novelTextbook group battle
| ← Ch.0550 | Ch.0552 → |
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
When they were watching Grai and Alasi fight, people didn't get the impression that Alasi frightening at all, as Grai was too strong. That did not mean that everyone could deal with Alasi like Grai did. Barran excelled at defending against attacks from a heavy soldier, especially in close combat. However, he simply had too little experience fighting against top-class opponents, unlike other top-class heavy soldiers, who had comprehensive combat experience and defensive capabilities. They wouldn't have defended against an attack from Mogren's Guns the way that Barran did.
In the blink of an eye, Tianjing had descended into an absolute disadvantage, while Torres was still maintaining their tight defence.
"Are you seeing this, Tianjing newbies! This is a group battle! This is Torres!"
"We're calling Tianjing arrogant! We're calling Tianjing complacent! If you have the balls, come stuff our asses with bullets!"
"Today, we'll teach you all what's called a genuine group battle!"
The Torres fans instantly went crazy. They were really worried when they saw Wang Zhong pull out his cross wheels! Only at this moment did they understand that any weapon had its advantages and disadvantages, and the cross wheels were no exception. If the target was too far away, their wielder would lose control of the cross wheels. After all, Wang Zhong was only a Casted Soul Stage soldier!
There was no need to get confused! There was no need to believe in the legend! He was just a human!
Just like how he was unable to control his squadron's formation in the group battle, he was unable to block his members from the incoming bullets.
They had actually lost 3 out of the 5 duels in this match, with even their war god Bobo being defeated. That was an utterly nightmarish experience. In fact, even before the start of the group battle, even the many Torres supporters had started to feel the shadow of All Mouthy King looming over them, just like dense, dark clouds, enveloping and pressing down onto them! However, at this moment, strength had justified and proved everything!
Now, Tianjing only had 3 people left standing!
At this moment, there was only one thought going through Emily and Scarlet's minds, which was to endure as long as possible, so as to buy as much time as possible for Wang Zhong.
They were not the typical sweet and naive girls that everyone had assumed they would be. They were very clear about how frightening the current situation was. Group battles were where Torres held the advantage, as this was something they had trained to the point of perfection, hence the disparity was even more massive. They would really be seeking death if they were still thinking about creating miracles at this point in time. Therefore, Scarlet and Emily's only thought was to protect themselves and buy more time.
Matera laughed out in response. How naive could Tianjing be! Did they really think that Torres' accomplishments were mere boasts? They had practised this exact formation god knows how many times, for the sake of dealing with super powerhouse squadrons like Heaven's Fate, Martial Ghost Divine Emperor, Stuart, Grozny. That included those Mo's List heavy soldiers that possessed divine special abilities. How could Tianjing compare to those people?
Matera didn't have any special traits, other than his deep well-like Soul Sea. He was able to continuously output his Soul Power without any worry of having it dry up, allowing him to sustain the massive Soul Power consumption of his cannon. Under normal circumstances, only Heroic Soul Stage soldiers could sustain that level of consumption. However, he was more capable in this area as compared to most Heroic Soul Stage soldiers.
He had endured all this time just for a chance to showcase his ability! With a single breath, 3 cannonballs shot out in a "品" formation. Other than talent, he also had skill!
At the same time, his team member with the Gauss sniper was still carrying out his task of obstructing Wang Zhong. This was his one and only task, and there was definitely no need for him to be greedy.
Bang! Rumble rumble rumble...
Among the bullets whizzing by, Alasi's 4th shot came out!
There was not the slightest bit of hesitation in Alasi's cold and emotionless eyes as he pulled the trigger.
Did he believe that he would be useful if he blocked from the front?
Despite being covered by smoke and dust, Wang Zhong was immediately able to sense Alasi unleashing his shot. However, the bullet that was shooting towards his chest did not trigger any feelings of danger or threats. Everyone had forgotten that bullet paths didn't always have to be straight lines.
Arc shot!
Who said that Mogren's Guns could only fire in straight lines?
Golden light sparkled as the cross wheels left his hands. Wang Zhong could not sit still and watch an attack like this land. With Scarlet's level of Soul Power output, that shot would definitely be lethal!
Whoosh!
Golden wheels of light spun, but they sliced through the air. The revolutions weren't fast enough, and this was an attack from Alasi to boot. Having added the arcs into the shot, Alasi knew that Wang Zhong would definitely attempt to block it. However, this world couldn't be countered by just a single person alone!
Within the dust and smoke strewn across the stage, all that could be heard were the sounds of bullets striking their targets, followed by muffled female groans and bodies collapsing on the ground.
Although Emily managed to raise her daggers before the 4th shot, she was still unable to block it. Piercing through her abdomen, it proceeded to knock Scarlet down, taking both of them out of this group battle.
This was the Mogren's Guns' most frightening 4th shot! Even Grai needed 3 heavy runic shields, and he had barely blocked that attack.
From the very beginning, the other people from Tianjing weren't on the same level. They had broken past their limits in order to reach this stage of the CHF.
With the Mogren's Guns entering a Soul Power accumulation state, Alasi returned them to their holsters. He pulled out a short Gauss sniper, pairing off with the other sniper in his squadron.
Order, strength, practice; With sufficient advance planning, in this group battle, the entire Torres squadron was like a well-oiled machine, executing their combat strategy effectively.
The entire arena was dead silent, with Tianjing fans on the brink of despair. Tianjing had only just crossed half the distance, and yet they were all dropping like flies!
All of them were jubilant after watching Tianjing chop up Bella Dean. However, when Tianjing was the one being chopped up... just watching it happen would give them internal injuries.
Matera was still wreaking havoc with his cannon fire, smashing the Tianjing squadron with explosions and giving All Mouthy King a beating. If this was a duel, there would be many experts who could toy with him until he was dead. However, in a group battle, he had become an overlord!
Bobo Torres had already summoned the murderous god Guste. At this moment, he and his brother Cabel had completely recovered their self-confidence. This was the strength Torres had in group battles! In an instant, they had left Wang Zhong as the last man standing!
"This is why Alasi can fill the role of captain for Torres! Dealing with Grai, shoving Tianjing's doors right open, he had most likely calculated that this match would enter the group battle phase." said Vladimir with a tone filled with praise.
Only a person who was calm and had adequate foresight would be capable of being a captain. Alasi had definitely planned 3 steps ahead when he had sent himself up as the vanguard for this match. He really was rather formidable.
Carolyn also had considerable praise for him. Truthfully speaking, Alasi was the kind of person who could fill many roles. He was strong, was intelligent, and also wasn't arrogant. This was the kind with both a high EQ and high IQ. People like Bobo were generally nurtured to be Heavenly Soul Stage soldiers, and would become the protectors of the family. However, it wasn't possible for them to become family leaders.
This time, Tianjing had finally smashed into a brick wall. After all, this was the round-of-16.
All of his group members had been knocked out. Faced against a complete 5-man formation, with the invincible cross wheels facing off against a nemesis in the form of a dimensional life form. A life form like Guste was least afraid of weapons that dealt physical damage. If Guste could restrict the cross wheels... All Mouthy King would end up with the cruellest of beatings.
Torres already had victory in their grasp.
"Torres will definitely win!"
"This is how a genuine powerhouse carries out group battles!"
"What All Mouthy King, what black horse Tianjing! Our great Torres didn't even get a single hair singed!"
"Complete victory!
The Torres fans had already gone crazy with their shouts and cheers, their berserk voices instantly resounding across the entire arena. Alasi's tactic of using ranged attacks had settled all of Torres's problems.
This was the time for scores to be settled. Despite their superior position in this group battle, Bobo and Cabel did not advance, as both of them wanted to suppress of Wang Zhong's drive and momentum.
Alasi and Griffith were continued locking Wang Zhong down, while Matera was continuing with his berserk firing. His abilities would be useless in close combat. Therefore, at this moment, there was basically no need for him to hold back at all. Wanton bombardment. He had even used his Soul Power reserves, as there weren't many chances for him to bombard All Mouthy King.
This time, everyone was able to see how Matera got his well-known nickname of "dairy cow", and what it meant to have limitless Soul Power. Although his Soul Power output wasn't on par with Sharmie's in terms of quality, this fellow was basically on his own in terms of continuous output.
With a short span of 2 minutes, he had already unleashed over 20 shots, completely forcing Wang Zhong's movement to a halt. Despite doing so, this fellow's expression hadn't changed even one bit, and his Soul Power output showing no signs of wilting. He definitely was a freak.
This was the underlying power of the families. They would always be able to direct people with unique traits into positions that were suitable for them.
As the smoke and dust settled, the time for revenge to be meted out had finally appeared. With the support of covering firepower, the brothers Bobo and Cabel, coupled with the gigantic dimensional beast, started their advance. They wouldn't give All Mouthy King any opportunity to interfere with their backline. At this moment, they were only waiting for the Mogren's guns to finish recharging. With Alasi's accuracy, they would be able to obtain a stable victory in this group battle. This was a tactic they had settled on before the start of this match, and they would definitely not give Tianjing any opportunities to exploit it. What's more, they were not going to care about so-called dignity or pride; that was something that belonged only to the victors!
When an S rank squadron was willing to put down their pride and actually craft strategies and tactics, they would be able to display their true strength for the world to see.
"This is why I've said earlier that Tianjing would end up in such a situation. Take a look at you all." Gui Hao said with a smile."This should be how it's done, right? Putting their reputation aside to just do it properly, how could they not deal with Tianjing? I'm liking Alasi more and more."
Within this CHF, Torres was the only squadron that had really gone all out to counter Tianjing, although Gui Hao and the others from the S+ squadrons felt that there was basically no need to do so. However, seeing Tianjing get cast in the spotlight again and again, they, who believed themselves to be the center of the universe, felt that they had just become supporting characters. This had given rise to unhappiness in their hearts. Commoners should return to the paths deserving for their status.
Anyone would feel despair when up against such a formation. There were many squadrons that have come to the arena to spectate this match. At this moment, there were many of them in the viewing gallery that were whispering in each other's ears, thinking to themselves that Mo Wen's predictions had not turned out to be true. Wang Zhong was simply unable to enter the top 8. It wasn't to say that he was weak, but the Tianjing squadron had dragged him down.
Thunderous shouts rang out from the Torres supporters as they cheered for their team, who basically held a suppressive superiority in the arena. Comparatively, a strange and peculiar atmosphere had appeared within the Skylink live chat. This meant that the majority of the Skylink audience were All Mouthy King's supporters, and were starting to have slivers of doubt appear in their hearts. However, there were even more who were wavering; it was extremely rare for a person to be that blind, and people would believe what they could see.
All Mouthy King had already fallen into despair. He had already done all he could with his tactics and arrangements. However, his opponent had placed their strength and focus in the right place. Having successively defeating two S ranked squadrons, it was impossible for the third one to continue being arrogant and not give some face to Tianjing. From what everyone could see, Torres had put ample effort into targeting Tianjing's weaknesses, as well as matching their own advantages to further exploit those weaknesses.
Discussions started appearing across the entire arena. For some unknown reason, the spectacle of All Mouthy King being beaten up caused quite a few people in the arena to feel rather happy. The majority of the people watching in the viewing gallery were from the middle and high levels of the Federation. While it would be interesting if it were 2 aristocratic families duking it out, they did not hope for a commoner squadron to be so rampant all the way through this CHF, much less for an aristocratic family squadron to become a joke in people's eyes.
Nevertheless, everything happening outside the stage did not influence Wang Zhong at all. He knew that this day would have come eventually. Everyone had already given their all, and this was enough for him. Now, it was time for him to take over. What did it mean to be a captain?
Like a gale, Soul Power exploded out from every inch of his body, with 200 Grassos of Soul Power being output in a continuous wave. This meant that Wang Zhong was continuously discharging Soul Power at the peak of the Casted Soul Stage. Many experts were able to accomplish such a feat, though the problem was how long he could maintain such a state. At the same time, the tolerance of the fleshly body, as well as mental endurance, would have to be factored in.
"Our Empty Vessel King's playing with his life." Gui Hao was feeling unusually good. So what if he lost a bit of money? What was the Federation's currency to the upper 5 families? They were the ones who had developed it in the first place!
The entire audience had their eyes opened wide, while Mo Wen had also "trained his eyes" on the stage. For the sake of his squadron's improvement, Wang Zhong had always restricted his strength. Therefore, he should have already expected the outcome of this group battle. After all, hope was one thing, while reality was another.
He really wanted to witness Wang Zhong's genuine strength. At the same time, he also wanted to know exactly how strong the legendary Laforgue's cross wheels were.
Raise the wind
Whoosh Whoosh...
Two cross wheels hurtled towards Bobo and Guste. Clearly recovered, Guste was filled with hatred for Wang Zhong. All dimensional life forms possessed some level of intelligence. Having experienced it just a short while ago, it clearly remembered this grudge!
At this moment, the 3 people in Torress's backline had changed to intermittent shooting. A formidable marksman would definitely be able to hit any target. With ranged shooting being their expertise, Torres exemplified this trait. The three people's goal was to obstruct Wang Zhong's movements, especially when the cross wheels returned to his hands. As long as they could break his rhythm, Wang Zhong would have difficulty breaking away from the 2 people and 1 freakish beast closing in on him!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Wang Zhong did not make any conspicuous movements, appearing as if he was completely ignoring the incoming ranged attacks. With the smallest adjustments in movements, he evaded the attacks while retreating. This resulted in some bullets whizzing past his ears, neck, and even his chest.
Having closed the distance, the cross wheels halted Bobo and Guste's advance. Due to the fame and reputation it had garnered, no one dared to underestimate them. Nevertheless, Cabel still continued to rush forwards. He believed that Bobo and Guste would be able to obstruct the cross wheels, as they weren't that frightening if they weren't able to build up sufficient momentum.
When the cross wheels returned to Wang Zhong's hands, that was when the attacks from Alasi and the other two ranged soldiers arrived. The targets were his hands and feet, obstructing his movements during the most difficult phase of using the cross wheels, which was to grab hold of them when their return. They wanted to see how Wang Zhong would react when they broke his rhythm.
Wang Zhong leaned backwards, spreading his hands like a butterfly's wings, evading the incoming bullets. He appeared to be slower by a beat, yet, with this mysterious way of retreating, he was still able to receive the returning cross wheels in an unfathomable manner. Resting in his hands for less than a second, the cross wheels proceeded to hurtle out with greater ferocity and speed.
At this instant, Cabel was less than 10 metres from Wang Zhong. Completely ignoring his defence, Soul Power gushed out from every pore on his body, causing his muscles to swell. At this instant, all he wanted was to smash Wang Zhong into a pulp!
With the tacit understanding between Alasi and the other two ranged soldiers in Torres' backline, they unleashed their shots at the same time. Being their strongest ranged soldier, Alasi had gone one step further, unleashing dual arcing shots. Just this move had shocked the entire arena, as it was more than sufficient to cause countless ranged soldiers to close their eyes in jealousy. As for Matera, he did not continue his messy bombardment. Instead, at this moment, it was best for him to restrict his cannon's output.
Alasi did not just rely on Mogren's Guns to achieve his fame and reputation, as his fundamental strength was already sufficient to send people into despair. That was why he was the universally acknowledged number 1 ranged soldier on the Mo's List. Even with Bobo's strength, he had given out the role of the captain to Alasi, as this decision was based on strength.
At this instant, the multidirectional shooting had utterly sealed off all of Wang Zhong's paths, leaving him with no way of retreating. Cabel had also ramped up his speed to its limits, appearing just like an armoured train as he charged forwards. Honour, glory, and victory were right before his eyes!
Bang...
Without a doubt, under covering fire, Wang Zhong endured 3 shots, before colliding directly with Cabel.
| ← Ch. 0550 | Ch. 0552 → |