Chapter 497: Martian Match Maker
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Lie Xuan was surprised by the fact that Duo Lun and Tan Bu"s improvement was greater than most other warriors, including herself.
The two young soldiers had always sparred diligently, and they gave their 100% attention and effort while doing so. Therefore, the two were able to reap full benefits of the training. On the contrary, soldiers who had done a half a*s job while training would have gained little to nothing.
As the two young soldiers increased the intensity of attacks, some onlookers cheered for them even though their technique and moves were very simple and unsophisticated, especially in the eyes of Lie Xuan.
Amidst the exchanges of hacks and slashes, Tan Bu suddenly started the Divine Burst ability while Duo Lun"s blade hurled at him. Tan Bu"s sudden increase in speed caught the latter off guard. Tan Bu rose to the opportunity and sneaked in a flurry of attacks at Duo Lun when the latter was trying to regain his balance. As a result, Duo Lun suddenly lost the edge he had gained earlier.
However, Tan Bu"s attacks were not able to end the match as Duo Lun dug in to hold his ground. When the effect of the Divine Burst finally pa.s.sed, Duo Lun retaliated immediately and started his Divine Burst ability. The increased speed and vigor in Duo Lun"s attack quickly helped him regain his advantage and slowly push Tan Bu to a corner.
Ross looked at the two soldiers" performance as a feeling of shame crept into him. He had been too content with his ability, believing that no one in the focus group would have wielded the Divine Burst ability better than him. But, Duo Lun and Tan Bu had proven him wrong.
Feeling ashamed for himself, Ross, the former champion of the Battle Wolf, wanted to turn on his heels and run away. After some time, he conceded that running away wouldn"t solve the problem, and the only solution for catching up with his former subordinates was to work harder.
"Stop!" w.a.n.g Tong announced.
The two young soldiers paused immediately after hearing the command. They had already gotten used to such high-intensity training, so they didn"t even need to take a deep breath to gather themselves. It was evident that they had not only trained during the day, but also during their downtime.
"This is the practical use of the Divine Burst technique. I can"t teach you when or how to use it during a combat situation. You will have to find that out yourself. Lie Xuan and Ross, please demonstrate what you have learned." w.a.n.g Tong said.
"Captain, can you change the opponent for me?" Ross"s face crumpled. He would rather fight Ye Zi than the sa.s.sy princess from House Lie.
"Why, Ross? Am I not a worthy opponent?" Lie Xuan rose to Ross" comment.
"Oh…no, no. Let"s start then."
Three of the soldiers laughed at Ross" reluctant expression; this fight was going to be entertaining.
"You, you three, come with me. " w.a.n.g Tong said with a broad smile on his face.
The three soldiers who laughed at Ross lowered their head and followed him out of the room. Before w.a.n.g Tong walked out, he turned back and announced, "Ah, mind your own business, no matter what you hear."
The words sent a chill down the three soldier"s spines.
w.a.n.g Tong then led the three soldiers into a separate room next door, and before long, wails and painful howls could be heard even across the brick wall.
"Ross, please!" Lie Xuan urged. She didn"t bring any weapon with her.
Ross unsheathed his blade and reminded himself to be careful.
Duo Lun and Tan Bu didn"t partner up this time. Instead, each of them found a new partner in order to share their knowledge. Wolves fought in packs, and therefore, sharing and teamwork were what made Battle Wolf a formidable war band.
As everyone sparred and practiced, the cry and shouts in the room next door kept going on.
After two hours, the clamor next door finally subsided. When the three soldiers filed into the training room, they were drenched in sweat. w.a.n.g Tong announced, "These three will take a break for now, and the rest of you can keep going. Duo Lun, let me know when it"s time for lunch."
"Yes, Captain."
w.a.n.g Tong turned around and sauntered off while whistling a happy tone.
As soon as he disappeared, the soldiers surrounded the three "survivors" and asked them what had happened. "b.a.l.l.s! You guys look like you have just gotten back from h.e.l.l."
"h.e.l.l? No, no. It was a heaven, heaven for a s.a.d.i.s.t." One of the three soldiers refuted sarcastically.
"It was... sigh... " Lu Dun failed to muster enough courage in him to repeat what he had been through. He didn"t want to relive that experience ever again.
"Did you three at least learn how to use the Divine Burst after all that? "
Suddenly, the three saddened faces lit up with a shred of joy. They nodded. "Was that confidence flickering in their eyes?" Lie Xuan wondered.
Questions sprouted into Lie Xuan"s mind. Who was furface? How would he be able to teach three useless foot soldiers, their combined levels being still lower than Lie Xuan, to use a technique that had taken her so long to wield?
"Why don"t you three take the day off?" Ross said compa.s.sionately.
"No Lieutenant, we just need to catch our breaths. Furface said we should practice more right after we have gotten the gist of it."
Moved by the three"s devotion, the rest of the soldiers nodded and felt happy for them to have made the breakthrough.
…
w.a.n.g Tong retired to his shop and started tinkering with the METAL suits again. He knew he didn"t have much time left with Battle Wolf. The Zergs inside the City of Maersa were bound to seek retribution after their valuable cargo s.h.i.+pment was raided. Although w.a.n.g Tong had convinced the Battle Wolf to stay put in order to avoid running into Zerg forces, it would only be a matter of time for the Zergs to knock on their doors.
When w.a.n.g Tong picked the members of the focus group, he had focused solely on their physical conditions. However, after a few days of h.e.l.lish training, he reckoned that these soldiers not only had a strong body, but also an iron will.
Lie Xuan stood at the threshold and watched w.a.n.g Tong meticulously putting pieces of the METAL suit together. She concluded that such patience was extremely rare in powerful warriors like him. As she marveled at w.a.n.g Tong"s qualities, it occurred to her that House Lie could use a talent like him as well. Without any hesitation, Lie Xuan decided to enlist w.a.n.g Tong.
"Furface, time for lunch. Are you fixing METAL suits? Wow, you are so talented. Do you have a girlfriend?" Lie Xuan asked.
w.a.n.g Tong looked up and said stoically. "Yes."
"Oh-oh... really? Is she from the Battle Wolf?" Lie Xuan kept on prying for more answers from w.a.n.g Tong.
"No, she is not on Mars." w.a.n.g Tong answered disinterestedly.
"Long distance relations.h.i.+p, eh? It must be difficult, in this day and age, you know? With the communication being cut off and all that... Have you thought about finding a new one on Mars?"
w.a.n.g Tong grinned. "You want to be my matchmaker?"
"Well, why not? Do you really want that girl to wait for you for G.o.d knows how long? Man are idiots!" Lie Xuan shot back at w.a.n.g Tong.
"Hehe, not everyone is like Lie Jian." w.a.n.g Tong said with a knowing smile.
"Do you know my brother?" Lie Xuan asked, but she didn"t defend his brother"s promiscuous lifestyle. Ever since the Zerg invasion, Lie Jian had taken a long, hard look at his personality, and had turned his unsavory habits back a few notches.
"Hehe, no. But, everyone here on Mars talks about him. Let"s go eat now, before there is nothing left. Those soldiers eat like pigs."
…
In the afternoon, when w.a.n.g Tong walked into the Mastery caster cla.s.s, everyone except for Guan Dongyang was surprised by his new look, just like the morning cla.s.s was.
"Today we will work on the Instant Cast. This is the bread and b.u.t.ter of any Mastery caster"s ability. Killing Zergs is empty talk without knowing how to cast spells efficiently."
"Furface, are we going to learn new spells?" Hamir licked his lips in excitement.
"Of course! How about the Mastery tornado?"