Chapter 178 – Abandoning in Self Despair?
Many had already begun to analyze and consider the lineup arrangement they would push forward if they were in Wang Zhong’s shoes. Letting Grai up now would undoubtedly be a choice. Grai was an all-rounded soldier and no occupation could really be called his nemesis.
Using the strongest fighter in order to launch an offensive strike was a good plan. As long as they snatched away next round’s right to choose last, they would be able to utilize occupational counters to twist the following matches to their advantage.
Naturally, Grai could also be hidden away. Scarlet and Emily could also be sent up to confuse Adolf. After all, the two hadn’t participated in last year’s regionals, so Adolf would have quite the misconception of their strength. This was an exploitable advantage. Furthermore, Scarlet was also the squadron’s previous captain, one selected by Grace. Her strength was basically assured. She could at least reduce the negative effect of losing the first round to the absolute minimum.
So what was his choice?
The competition grounds’ current atmosphere was grave and solemn. This was the moment for him to show his theoretical capabilities.
Everyone was watching Wang Zhong. The target himself was also pondering his choice. Actually, it wasn’t a complicated choice. Just as Cecil had guessed, respect should be given to one’s third-year brothers and sisters. During their squadron training, Wang Zhong clearly felt the passion that drove Lily and Colby forward.
The two had participated in last year’s regionals and suffered a crushing defeat. During the last two months they had interacted with the rest of the squadron and improved greatly. It was inevitable for them to feel the pressing urge to battle after such gains. They wanted to prove their results to everyone!
Such thoughts weren’t prohibited, but this required that these veterans view their strength without any bias first. Tianjing’s disparity in strength with the other squadrons was just too great. It was to the point where their strengths couldn’t be highlighted as they lost. Now that they’d gained some accomplishment, they assumed they were equal or even better than the other squadrons. Such thoughts were frightening and might even hurt the entire squadron as a whole when they participated in future competitions.
Wang Zhong’s decision, then, was to ‘temper’ them. He treated the enemy as a hammer and the fight as the forge. This fight wasn’t just for the sake of the bet, but to help the entire squadron. Captains were required to consider these aspects.
And if he were to be frank, his prestige just couldn’t match up to Reeves at the moment. He couldn’t just burst with radiance all of a sudden. Prestige needed to be forged into being, bit by bit.
So with a faint smile, Wang Zhong reported his second choice—Colby.
Tianjing Squadron’s next competitor to walk out was unexpectedly Colby!
The slightly quiet competition grounds was now deadly silent. A few in the audience even had their mouths gaped open. He actually sent Colby out for the second match!?
It wasn’t as though the academy despised Colby. In the end, however, most of the students never would’ve chosen him if they were in charge of the selection.
Firstly, although the assassin occupation could be considered strong and pretty good during duels, they were far too easily countered. Meeting heavy soldiers inclined toward defense was a show where one side just stood there while the other attacked uselessly. It would just make people feel sullen and extremely pissed.
If it had been a dark setting with a complicated terrain, then assassins would be able to utilize the available advantages to conceal themselves and seek opportunities. This was an athletic stage, however, and there was universal agreement that assassins would fall once they stood atop it.
Alright! Even if one didn’t consider all of this, just based on strength Colby had lost to Emily three months ago! Terrain? Mental state? A loss was a loss and there was no other reason behind it.
He was a third-year veteran as well! His combat skills were fine, but in all aspects of his soul power he was on a set path. Even if he and Emily had started at the same time, Emily’s growth over three months would definitely exceed his!
Along with all that, he had participated in last year’s regionals and records of his strength would have already been seen through by Adolf. Even if Wang Zhong wanted to send an assassin up, he should’ve at least sent Emily instead. Naturally, the best choice would’ve been Scarlet or Grai.
But how could this be possible? Why? Why did he choose Colby!?
Did this fucker’s brain get kicked by a donkey?
The grief and indignation within the hearts of the Tianjing crowd started to surface uncontrollably. Lily being sent out during the first fight was him just following the norm. Colby being sent out now was him just acting like a fool.
“Fuck! Wang Zhong, do you even know how to arrange a fucking lineup? Did you really do any proper analysis of the opponent’s strength?”
“Do you really understand every single member of your squad?”
“Yeah! That’s right! All in all, you shouldn’t have sent out Colby! Don’t tell me you’re a spy for Adolf!”
They didn’t even wait for Adolf’s choice before the shouts and curses started to rain down. It wasn’t even aimed at the Tianjing Squadron but their moronic captain! This fucker had even acted so gracefully before the battle! Was he some joker sent by monkeys!?
Unable to bear it, Cecil started to shake his head.
Yet another third-year veteran.
Exactly how much respect does this second-year captain hold? Perhaps he was just a decorative ornament.
When he saw the imposing self-confidence being exuded yesterday before Headmaster Bradley, he had assumed Wang Zhong to be someone worth noting. In the end, his arrangement the last two matches really made others feel like dropping their glasses. It made Cecil feel greatly disappointed. He had originally anticipated a spectacular fight.
“Elena,” Cecil called in an indifferent tone, “make it quick.”
Finding a counter against every one of Tianjing’s members was what Cecil had been doing last night after carefully analyzing and understanding the information he had on hand. Even a lion would use its full strength when hunting a rabbit. He would never go into a match with a heart full of contempt. Furthermore, this match had quite the stakes behind it.
As such, all available counters had been made and selected last night. As long as they were able to gain a good start, they could simply use the advantage to make the final decisions and thoughtlessly suppress any opponent that came up. It didn’t require any on-the-spot thinking as he just chose from his list of arranged counter lineups.
A purple blur flashed from Cecil’s side and reappeared on the stage like a specter.
Purple clothes, purple weapons, even her hair was purple! Eyes purple, lipstick purple, how much did this lady like the color purple!?
Purple represented romance, but there wasn’t the slightest bit of such present on this girl. Those pair of purple eyes just stared at Colby and never seemed to move. They gave others a very cold and chilling feeling.
Adolf didn’t use a heavy soldier to counter Colby because the heavy soldier was needed for more important targets. Dealing with Colby didn’t even require a specific occupational counter—Elena was more than suited.
This purple lady was Adolf’s best assassin. Cecil had planned to use her as a counter against Colby early on. When she received her target, Elena took it upon herself to go through all of Colby’s combat videos from last year’s regionals.
In fact, such trouble wasn’t even necessary. Unlike Lily, it wasn’t easy for assassins to change their combat style. Other than learning a few new big moves, they could better their time by improving on specific aspects like strength, speed, or other basic capabilities. Although this was a kind of stable improvement, it was also very slow and talent played a very bit part… simple put, this match would be much more relaxed than the previous one.
Elena raised an eyebrow. When the bell rang, she advanced on rapid steps.
Currently, the competition grounds was completely silent. Everyone had already let go of the initial hot-headed hope they’d felt at the start, especially after seeing Elena begin her assault.
Elena didn’t bother with any fancy moves. Shift, attack, step, strike… her figure was akin to a purple hurricane that fluttered endlessly across the stage.