Chapter 192 – Miraculous Group Battle (Two-In_One)
The two were adequate enough to hinder Cecil’s actions, reducing the efficiency and effectiveness of each move he made. He was unexpectedly unable to keep the superior grounds when facing the shaken and heavily damaged Barran! His attacks had been reduced to just 70-80 percent and Barran managed to clench his teeth and weather them.
A heavy soldier’s toughness was truly too good! He looked as though he were about to fall at any moment, yet he endured through Cecil’s attacks which were just weakened by a bit!
In the end, solo matches and group battles weren’t the same.
Support! Where is my support!? What is Simon doing? What are the others doing? We only need an instant to get rid of Barran!
The pitiful Simon had to face Scarlet’s pistols, however, as both he and Cecil were inside her range. She didn’t have any intention of wiping out her opponents as even Simon wasn’t someone she could easily deal with. Just impeding him was a simple task, though, and in any case, her specialty was accurate high speed shooting. Even with her weak firepower, just the freezing effect made her barrage effective in the group battle.
Scarlet’s main objective was to interrupt Simon’s aim and stop him from condensing his soul power. This was the difference between a long-ranged soldier and mid-ranged soldier. Mid-ranged soldiers like Simon required time to condense enough soul power for a sufficient strike. After all, not everyone was a monster like Sharmie. As if to rid them of any way out, Wang Zhong’s arrows would periodically provide reinforcement from time to time.
The two sides had sunk into a deadlock. This was a test of a squadron’s technical ability and cooperation. Wang Zhong and Scarlet’s accuracy and tacit understanding versus the cooperation between Cecil and Simon!
This stalemate seemed stuck at the moment. While Cecil knew that Wang Zhong and Scarlet were wasting comparatively more soul power, what about their concentration?
And Barran would definitely not last long in his hands…
Just ten more seconds! I need just ten more seconds to finish off this heavy soldier! Or if Simon can escape his suppression, the scales of victory will definitely tip to our side! 只可惜，十秒时间对阿道夫学院来说太长了。
But those ten seconds were, in the end, too long a time for Adolf Academy.
The second to fallw as Elena. Grai really was Grai and even though Elena was completely defending, she was only able to fight ten rounds with him before a fired-and-forgotten arrow from Wang Zhong disrupted her. Along with Grai’s shaky movements, the collaboration between the two reached a dumbfounded level.
Wang Zhong’s arrow targeted the exact moment when Elena moved. Since it was just a single arrow, Elena managed to react quickly enough, but that split second distraction was grabbed by Grai. He didn’t even use his sword but knocked her out with a simple and efficient strike of a hand blade.
Without stopping, Grai quickly went to attack Simon after dispatching Elena. Poor Simon was already flustered for not achieving his goals, so all he could do after seeing Grai rush him was turn his cannon toward him. But as the only heavy cannon soldier in the squadron, how could he face the specter-like Grai?
Three cannon shots pierced through empty air, and Grai had already closed the distance between them. Five meters, yet the danger to Simon was just a split-second away.
Bernie was also flustered.
His opponent was Emily, a freshman lass of Tianjing Academy. She was much stronger than he had imagined, so while he was able to suppress her, it had been based purely on his occupational superiority. Dealing with her speed would be impossible for him. While she was just slightly weaker than Elena, it wasn’t by much.
In the beginning, he was able to maintain a deadlock with Emily. But after seeing Qi Lian Shan get instantly dispatched, and Cecil impeded by two long-ranged fighters, and finally watching as Elena collapsed…
He couldn’t let Simon get finished off! If he’s taken out then they simply had no chance of victory!
The anxious Bernie wanted to break off this duel and reinforce Bernie, but he seemingly forgotten that his opponent had yet to unsheathe her sharp sword. It was as though she had been waiting for the instant he grew flustered and wanted to move to help others. He had underestimated this successor to the Assassin Clan.
A ferocious flame erupted, and a fiery lotus representing death bloomed the instant he turned around!
Ding, ding, ding, ding… swish…
The terrified Bernie tried to resist the assault and used all of his strength to defend against it. But in the end, facing such a killing technique, he lost the initiative and had his fate sealed!
When the soul power protecting his body collapsed, a dagger was placed gently against his throat.
At the same time, the final result between the confrontation of Simon and Grai was revealed. Facing such a terrifying close-ranged opponent like Grai, not even Simon could put up any resistance. Seemingly at the same time as when Emily placed her dagger on Bernie’s throat, Grai placed his sword against Simon’s.
Simon’s cannon and Bernie’s large sword were tossed to the floor. Sighing once, the two carried Elena and Qi Lian Shan from the arena. If they continued to fight in this situation, it wouldn’t just label the team as losers but it also wouldn’t be a crime if their opponents killed them for it. And even if they did manage to hurt their opponents, they would have to face a punishment equal to an offense at the Federation level.
Cecil’s back was facing them as that scene unfurled, so he hadn’t noticed what was happening. Everything had happened too quickly, and he himself had no choice but to endure another one of Wang Zhong’s ruthless shots while still pounding violently away at Barran who slid back a few meters. That Barran was like an unkillable cockroach! Although he appeared on the brink of collapse, he would always clench his teeth and endure the barrage sent his way. Where did they find such a courageous heavy soldier!?
He wanted to pursue his attack on Barran, but both Scarlet’s ice crystal bullets and Wang Zhong’s arrows flew over to stop him. He dodged the attacks, shocked that Scarlet would suddenly not care for Simon. When he moved to the side, he finally saw Grai and Emily wrap everything up behind him.
While he gawked, Barran also managed to stagger and stumble back up until he was just a few meters away from him. A mouthful of blood was spat from his mouth, and the three vanguards formed a triangle with Cecil within.
Now, Cecil was truly dumbfounded.
Currently, the entire viewing gallery was deadly silent. The group battle had been exceptionally intense, but after that split-second of action, the entire situation underwent tremendous changes.
Then they all suddenly realized that the number of people from Adolf Academy had shrunk to just one…
It was now five against one!
Headmaster Bradley’s mouth was open wide. He didn’t dare to believe what he saw before him. His Adolf Squadron, known for their group battles, had actually collapsed to such a state in a mere dozen seconds!
“Haha. Our group of children is still deficient in many aspects. After all, it has not been long since they formed up into a squadron so their mutual understanding and cooperation is still a bit average.” Headmaster Greene laughed heartily while using his words to downplay the situation. “Even so, the captain is not bad. Am I not right my old classmate?”
Only after a long moment did Headmaster Bradley regain some sense of clarity after that period of sluggishness. Even so, he could only mutter in response, “Ah?”
“Tsk. I am talking you now, you know? Look at that dazed face. Victory and defeat is commonplace in fights.” Headmaster Greene continued using his leisurely and carefree manner of speech. “Have a look. Our squadron’s Wang Zhong is not bad, right? He has the demeanor of a great general once his mind is made up. I have said before that the captain is the soul and brains of a squadron. He is required to examine and take note of the larger picture. This is what it means to be called a commander.”
Bradley was completely dumbfounded by Greene’s words. This pretentious act made him want to flare up. As if that captain had any strength! His combat powers is shit! While his archery is accurate, he could find many such people with a single grab within Adolf Academy!
But it just so happened that such a person had actually caused Cecil’s plan to fail. The most critical point had been Grai— no, it was that heavy soldier! How could he make Qi Lian Shan lose all resistance with a single hit? That had been the point when the plan completely collapsed!
“In the end, group battles rely on one’s command and intelligence. Tut tut. To actually use two to three strategies and display them at such a level; this is called ‘having brains’! Yup, if one is just physically well-rounded then that will be all they can achieve.”
Watching Cecil get surrounded by the five members of the Tianjing Squadron made Headmaster Greene shake his head, unconcealable excitement on his face. Finally, after being suppressed for so many years, it was finally his turn to feel proud and elated. Ah, this was a classic example of how the weak triumph over the strong, with the strengths of each member in complete display. In the eyes of everyone Barran was just someone to fill in a spot, yet in the end he had saved the entire academy!
“Old classmate? Old classmate?
“… I, I was listening.” Bradley’s current expression was quite the wonderful one.
“Hey, don’t be so unhappy! This is just a competition! Even if it’s just a small one, there’s no need to care so much about victory or defeat. These are small matters, small matters!” Headmaster Greene chuckled as he continued, “We’re all here to help the Federation nurture their future pillars. We should be happy that such good seedlings appeared. I am just joyful that such a thing happened today. Oh yes, there’s actually still some of that wine gave brought over. Do you want to have a cup tonight? Tch. It seems you don’t have the heart to drink. I guess I’ll just drink it alone…”
If there was a hole in the ground before him right now, Bradley would have jumped in without the slightest hesitation.
“Don’t feel too happy! We haven’t lost yet!” Bradley growled through clenched teeth. “There is still Cecil. He is our strongest ace. As long as he still stands there, this match is far from over!”
“Oh, that is true,” replied Headmaster Greene in a solemn tone. “I can still feel that we are in a dangerous situation. I mean, that is Student Cecil. Then let us continue watching!”
Greene you smelly, shameless old thing, you bastard…
Bradley was close to crazily pulling his hair out in fury.
☀
Cecil indeed had no intention of giving up. In fact, regardless of how disadvantageous the situation was now, he never gave up on victory! There were many times when he was the last man standing in his squadron. Even so, he managed to endure till the end and even flip the tables before making a comeback!
Although, he had never had to face a five versus one situation before…
When he understood his current situation, Cecil suppressed his flustered and churning emotions. He returned to being calm and collected
Barran, Grai, and Emily surrounded him. Wang Zhong’s arrows and Scarlet’s pistols were trained at him. For now they all refrained from launching their offensive.
But Cecil wouldn’t act the way they wanted. He smiled suddenly and gave a gentle smack of his lips before shooting rapidly toward Barran!
Admit defeat! Impossible. Hope would always be present in any situation. Although he was facing five people, so long as he took the initiative and went on the offensive, there would at most be two people facing him at any given time.
Glowing arrow trails and bullets came flying toward him at crafty, vicious angles, but they all detonated preemptively against his sword and shield. None of them had managed to obstruct him.
Suddenly Wang Zhong’s voice rang out. “Position three!”
Right after the arrows and bullets detonated, the incomparably brave Barran unexpectedly retreated… and was replaced with Grai who attacked from the right. Grai’s spicy sword skills forced Cecil into letting up his offense in order to block the handsome freshman.
His opponent’s sword skills were sharp and penetrating. When he sent out his specialties, not even Cecil dared to be overly reckless when facing Grai’s attack. He felt both the arrows and pistols had stopped firing… Are they letting me fight with Grai one on one?
A spark danced to life in Cecil’s eyes. That’s nice! I’ll use my full strength and finish off the strongest one!
He switched to using his sword technique and was about to pierce forward to engage in a fight to the death with Grai when Wang Zhong’s voice rang out once more. “Position two!”
Akin to being tugged at like a puppet on strings, Grai turned and retreated without a second thought. What followed was a scorching-hot flaming dagger that rapidly stabbed toward his head from his back left.
The prepared sword technique couldn’t be launched and he couldn’t ignore that terrifying tagger. All he could do was pull back his sword in order to defend himself. Just as he blocked the dagger, Wang Zhong’s voice cut through before he could prepare a counterattack. “Position one!”
Flames retreated and a mountain came rumbling over.
It was Barran! That sturdy and heavy giant shield smashed violently against Cecil’s small round shield.
Cecil erupted with a strength that could rival heavy soldiers, even though he wasn’t one! A terrifying soul power burst from him and almost touched 170 grassos. With his second drive unable to suppress Cecil, Barran was sent flying back.
Even so, Cecil almost vomited blood. He could not understand the sensation Rosenberg and Qi Lian Shan faced.
That demonic voice sounded once more…
“Position three!”
Grai advanced and was backed by whistling arrows that came flying over.
“Position two!”
Emily moved up and gunshots dogged her steps.
“Position one!”
Barran charged forward with both bullets and arrows covering him.
“Position two, position three!”
Arrows came raining down once more…
…
After Simon and Bernie had their weapons seized and left carrying Qi Lian Shan and Elena out the arena, the rest of Adolf could only watch at the sides with unprecedented expressions on their faces.
So miserable…
He was being played with and skinned alive!
Regardless of how much hot blood filled him, regardless of how much he wanted to take at least one of his opponents down, not a single chance presented itself to him.
Not the slightest one!
Anyone he tried to challenge would scatter away—no, they didn’t even wait for his challenge anymore. Everyone would launch an attack before retreating, and if he wanted to chase he would have to face the next person coming to attack. Not only that, arrows and bullets would arrive from time to time to restrict his movements!
How the hell can I risk my life with this fight? This is simply being played the monkey…
Endless harassment, endless change in positioning, endless reinforcement. Furthermore, their cooperation was getting increasingly better.
Was Cecil strong?
Strong. Very strong. Strong to the point where he could wreck anyone he met in the solo match! Even an expert like Grai couldn’t achieve anything lasting with ranged support backing him.
Was Cecil fierce?
Fierce. Very fierce. Fierce to the point of astonishing the world! He even dared to fight a five versus one situation without thinking of giving up!
But there were things in this world that couldn’t be accomplished no matter how strong or fierce one was.
When Grai rushed up once more, Cecil finally caved. He didn’t resist or launch a counterattack, but simply threw his small round shield and long sword to the ground. Facing the sky, he sighed and said, “I’m not fighting anymore!”
He wasn’t afraid of being defeated in combat. That wouldn’t be a shameful loss. In the end, however, somebody wouldn’t even give him a chance to lose that way!
Cecil felt very disgusted. Did you really use me as live simulation for your formation? Did you really have me help you train!? Don’t bully others like that!
Headmaster Bradley’s stubborn face finally dimmed. Seeing Cecil prepared to fight a five versus one made Bradley feel a bit of hope. But in the end, everything had finally sunk in, and an intense feeling of loss filled the void in his heart.
Already unable to control his emotions, Headmaster Green stood and stared, at a bit of a loss for words.
Finally, the viewing gallery and hallways that had been quiet finally popped.
“Won? Was that a win?”
“We won? We actually won against the third place squadron of last year’s regionals? Against that Adolf Academy?”