Chapter 227 – Eastern Region Tyrant
The scene before them put a damper on their party. It took a while before everyone got over the shock and despair of what they had seen. After they had gotten over the initial shock, they started discussing about the squads involved in the eastern area special training this time around.
Old man Greene had told everyone that they need to perform well enough but not too good. Afterall, it was best to prepare early for it in the events of any unforeseen circumstances, such as an exchange competition. At the very least, they should have a plan to fall back on just in case.
Greene had given them a copy of the list of academy squadrons that were attending. After reviewing them in detail, Wang Zhong discovered that the squadrons in the eastern area were distinct from each other. A vast majority of them were unique in their own ways, and amongst them, three of them were deemed to be the strongest of them all.
“The first of the three should still be the Copperfield Academy. Although they had lost to Austin in the regionals last year, that was mainly due to the fact that Laura was still only a first year and still had much to learn. She was thus not given much regards in the last regionals. Copperfield Academy also had two squadrons as Copperfield is one of the ten greatest cities in the Federation and would to accommodate the many aristocratic families settled within. In fact, the second squadron was stronger than Laura’s squadron in the last regionals. However, this year, if you take into account not just the more mature Laura, but also their lineup, strength and two distinctly different squadrons, it goes without saying that Copperfield’s strength should be ranked the first within the eastern regions. Thankfully, as they are the current host for this special training along with the information I have about their squadrons, I can rule out the possibility of us having an exchange competition with them with certainty.”
“The second one is Austin, the academy famed for training up veteran soldiers in the eastern area. They’re the champions that have defeated Laura’s squadron in the regionals last year. They have a well-known trump card called the five shields formation. However, it would do us good to remember that Austin’s main combat strategy revolved around their traditional two ranged and two vanguard formation, which also is very similar to ours. Being the regional champions last year, it is highly likely that they would pull some stunt during the special training. Regardless of who their opponents will be, I want each and everyone of you to use one of their members as a point of reference and learn from that one person their pros and cons. Additionally, a group is only as strong as their weakest link. We can’t only look at their individual strengths; cooperation and teamwork is what makes a squadron strong. Only when everyone has found their place in the squadron and are able to operate as one would the squadron would be able to display its full strength.”
“The final one to pay attention to is Saxon. Their spectre dance formation consist of four assassins and one soldier and their motto was to do anything to win, even their lives,” analyzed Wang Zhong with a smile on his face. “Capturing the flag is their speciality, as their formation attacks their opponents so aggressively that there isn’t time for their opponents to defend against them. Based on that, a conventional two ranged two vanguard formation would be easily countered by them. Furthermore, I’ve heard that the people of Saxon are easily agitated and more rash than others, and they love to bully the weak…”
Hearing what Wang Zhong had just said, everyone looked at each other before laughing out, “This ‘weakling’ you are talking about can’t be us right?”
Rubbing his nose, Wang Zhong replied, “It’s easiest to make assumptions based on what’s given on paper. Other than us, who else do you think are weak?”
“How do they compare against Adolf?” asked Hymin with interest.
“Their results from last year’s regionals are much better as compared to Adolf’s. Regardless whether it was the the district or the regional competition, they have done quite exceptionally because of their spectre dance formation. On an individual level, I personally feel that Adolf is almost on par as them. However, this is just my estimation, and may not be an accurate representation of reality. After all, I’m unable to obtain much information about them even though they are the district champions. All my analyzes are based on reviews from others.”
“That means that they stronger than Adolf, but that strength is not something we cannot surmount right?” questioned Hymin with a smile. “Now, I want to see them try bullying us!”
In their previous fight with Adolf,their captain had not shown his trump card at all. Everyone had experienced Wang Zhong’s exceptional crosswheels, and were quite convinced that with it, they were quite unbeatable. If Saxon was only a bit stronger that Adolf, they should be able to win without much issue.
Hymin’s choice of words caused everyone to laugh. Nobody else was more clear about the true strength of their squad than this group of people who had trained together every single day. After defeating Adolf, all the doubts within their hearts had disappeared. A strong squadron is not just defined by its strength, but also its confidence and pride. Although properly addressing an enemy is a must in actual combat, overestimating every single opponent would not do much and may instead tire them out and impede their performance.
Unable to restrain his laughter, Wang Zhong shook his head and said, “Senior sister Hymin isn’t a good person.”
“I agree!” said Scarlet as she raised her hand.
Emily, who was chattering incessantly nearby, joined in the fun, “I agree as well that Hymin is not a good person!”
“Me two!”
“Me three!”
“Me four!”
Barran and Grai started laughing at the scene before them. Hymin placed her hand on her waist as she pouted. “Look at you guys! Hitting a person when she’s down! You dare declare that none of you had the thought of boasting our strength! Your elder sister was just stating the facts! All of you are so hypocritical! I can’t be bothered with you people!”
Speak of the devil.
On the afternoon of the second day, their train had arrived at Saxon City. This place was considered an E grade region in the eastern area of the Federation. Nevertheless, it still possessed a armored train interchange like those in A grade regions like Tianjing and Copperfield.
The domain of Saxon city was much smaller than Tianjing, and was considered as a second class city within the hundred city Federation. However, the exceptional performance of the Saxon Academy in the past couple of years in various academic arenas like the CHF had brought the city into the limelight. With their fame came various beneficial policies and resources, causing to quite a number of excellent merchants to frequent their city.
When the train stopped at the interchange for a break, everyone from Tianjing Academy had noticed that the entire Saxon Academy squadron were waiting by the side of the tracks. Slightly hoping for some fun, anticipation blossomed in Hymin’s heart. Nevertheless, it was not as though every ‘expert would demand a match when they had spotted a ‘weakling’.
Compared to the people from Tianjing Academy, the people from Saxon had booked the first class cabin, the legendary VIP room. Other than the waiting platform, there were no other avenues for the two squadrons to meet, as even their toilets are separated. This caused Senior sister Hymin, who was brimming with fighting spirit, to feel resentment as though a cold bucket of water was splashed onto her.
It was not long before everyone in the cabin was engaged in playing cards while chatting about life and viewing the scenery flashing past them once again. The clash between Tianjing and Saxon that Hymin was anticipating for did not occur and nothing happened till the morning of their arrival at Copperfield, when a small incident occurred in the dining cabin of the armored train.
This incidental meeting was all because Barran, Wang Zhong and Hymin had woken up early to have breakfast in the dining cabin. While there, they bumped into some Saxon Academy students. Upon seeing them, the eyes of one of the Saxon students by the name of Sully, who appeared to be the vice captain of Saxon squadron, lit up at the sight of Hymin. He then approached her and started a conversation with her. Upon hearing that she was a student of Tianjing Academy, he started showing off his status as a representative of the power Saxon Academy as well as the vice captain of Saxon squadron.