Chapter 324: chapter 324 - Carolyn's date
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
As the armoured trained started along its way, there were even quite a few students that to the initiative to start running along, appearing to want to transmit all of their madness and strength to the squadron, to fight alongside with them!
Seeing this, every single member of the squadron were rubbed off by the fervent and enthusiasm those students had for them. The simple-minded Barran stuck half of his body out of the carriage, waving his hands towards the students, people that had only known him for a half a year, and even those freshmen that had only known him for the past 2 to 3 months. Having done a prim and proper makeup, Hymin had cried her tears out to the point of it turning into smudgy lines, as the passion and sincerity of her friends during that send off was no less intimate than that of her family's prattling and nagging.
Every squadron member felt themselves brimming with fighting intent and strength. This was something that was unquantifiable and invisible, yet they had felt it coming from everyone that had sent them off.
As the armoured train disappeared into the wilderness, looking at the students who had followed it a long way out, headmaster Greene could not help but to shake his head while muttering "These bunch of crazy brats really have let their vigour overwhelm their heads."
"This is unbelievable. You're just jealous of them." said Professor Thor with a hearty chuckle. "Nevertheless, I feel that this bunch of brats have a reason to be crazy. Our academy's squadron of Wang Zhong and the others are indeed the most outstanding and strongest bunch that have come out from Tianjing among the past couple of years. I feel that they should have no problem in entering the official competition."
"They certainly wouldn't have a problem if it was the CHF of the past." replied Greene with a sigh. Him appearing calm and collected in front of everyone was just an act that he had put up. In reality, he was facing an extreme amount of pressure coming from all sides. " This year's CHF is unlike the previous ones. With the participation of the ten great families, this year's CHF has already changed its flavour. No longer would it be a competition purely between academies. This time, the truly powerful squadrons are those that have been formed up by the various aristocratic families. Even I'm feeling slightly worried of the outcome of all of these. As you know, I'm already old. What's more, it's not a big deal for the council and the parliament of the eastern area to fire me if they truly want to deal with me. Just seeing the anticipation of those kids makes me unable to predict what outcome would result upon their defeat. Furthermore, the Tianjing Academy might truly have to drop down to a second-class academy when that happens."
"Don't seek out troubles just to get a headache from them. Since you believe in those children, you should do all the way to the end." replied Professor Thor as he gave Headmaster Greene a pat on his shoulders. Coupled with Dean Moore who was unable to make it today, the three of them were old schoolmates that had spanned a few decades ago, causing them to be exceedingly clear about each other's personalities and have a deep level of friendship among each other. "I've always felt that Wang Zhong, that child, is a fellow that excels in creating miracles. Furthermore, there isn't any other way to settle this, right? Wallowing in self-pity and hatred due to impatience will lead to the most miserable of pains. Ha ha, those were the exact words that you've told me that year."
"I've said those words to you before?" asked headmaster Greene suspiciously as he looked towards Professor Thor.
"You've said it before."
"Really?"
"I didn't, right?"
"Did I?"
"Ha ha ha! Stop beating around the bush, old fellow! Come, let me accompany you for a drink! My treat!"
Compared to their trip to Copperfield City, the atmosphere within the Tianjing squadron was markedly different in the three-day journey on the armoured train. At that time, they were in high spirits, having just defeated the Adolf Academy. What's more, they were travelling to participate in special training, not a competition.
It was a completely different story this time. After seeing the might of Copperfield, the so-called five great assassins, long ranged soldiers, heavy soldiers, as well as the top ten experts, just the thought of them being one's opponents, caused a sliver of nervousness and excitement to surface uncontrollably within their hearts.
Regardless of how much they tried to look as relaxed and calm on the exterior, the tense and nervousness present in the hearts of everyone had extended out unhindered within the entire squadron. This was especially true for the few 3rd-year students, Colby, Lily and Hymin, who had experienced one too many failures in external events in the past. Despite having gotten used to it, upon starting to muster some hope for this CHF, just like a huge mountain, the pictures and memories of their past failures would press down heavily on their hearts, causing them to be unable to breathe freely. For Colby and Lily, only through a good performance would they have a chance to change their destinies.
Naturally, there were people within the squadron that were completely impervious to such an atmosphere, with Wang Zhong and Grai clearly representing this group. To them, the entire trip has been a tour from the very first day.
"Senior, how far will we be able to walk in this upcoming CHF?" asked Grai with a smile. Although he didn't participate in the group training, Grai was the person other than Wang Zhong that possessed the greatest understanding and mastery over their squadron's combinations and formations. There were truly times where a genius like him was able to get an understanding of everything with a single look.
"Since we've all walked down this path, naturally its best to walk as far as we can. However, the opponents we're up against this time are indeed extremely formidable. There will be critical moments happening where I would still need you to hold frontlines." replied Wang Zhong with a smile as he handed a ham sausage to Grai.
Taking it over, Grai gave a smile before saying, "I've seen the Mo Family's Lists, and those people on them are indeed very formidable. I've managed to see the strength of a few people on there, but they're not as formidable as you, senior. I feel that we should be able to get good results if we stake our all in this CHF."
Hearing Grai's words, Wang Zhong gave a faint smile in response. In the entirety of the Tianjing squadron, only Grai was able to see through his strength. In actual fact, Scarlet was only able to get somewhat of an understanding. Their squadron was extremely imbalanced with regards to the strength of the individuals. Nevertheless, if Wang Zhong's formation system was properly employed, there would be Grai at the front, with him in the middle. This was sufficient to protect Scarlet and Milami, who were positioned behind them. Although it takes two hands to clap, Grai was someone that could be trusted and relied on.
Just like the first time they've bumped into each other in the gravity room, the gaze of the two didn't change one bit. In actual fact, the two of them didn't have much of any conversations at all, but a strange sort of tacit understanding and collaboration.
Upon stepping out onto the railway station, the magnificent headquarters of the number one aristocratic family of the federation, Stuart City, caused the majority of the Tianjing squadron members to go into a daze as they took in the sights present around them. Even from a mere railway station, they were already able to feel the splendour of this city. The bustling crowds and the seemingly endless number of railway tracks speaks volumes about this city. It was extremely rare for an armoured train station to be that lively, and with even dense and numerous shops present within. Workers and salespeople greeted passersby with refined and courteous greetings and smiles on their faces, causing people to feel the uniqueness of this city within the first steps they take in here.
Stuart City was also one of the most heavily defended cities of the Freedom Federation, classified as 1st rate within the federation all the way to even their garrison troops. Being safe and flourishing, with high rise buildings present all around the city, the Stuart City could also be described as the federation's most populated city. As long steel beasts howled past the heads of them, everyone could not help but to get shocked, as they were unable to get the slightest feeling of threat from mutated lifeforms from within Stuart City.
"This is too cruel! One day, I'll also want to build such a railway station in our city!" it has to be noted that as of recently, our student Ma Dong has been flushed with success, transforming from a marginal person of the Assassin Family that was soured with the loss of his hopes to a figure that was deemed to be properly nurtured by his family.
"Tianjing? That's impossible, right?" replied Hymin as she stuck her tongue out. With a father that worked in the city council, she knew all too well about the stuck up attitudes those Tianjing bureaucrats have. There wasn't even the need to mention the lack of development and money Tianjing possessed. Even if they had both of those conditions, there was no counting on the city hall to do such matters purely for the convenience of their citizens.
Hearing that, Ma Dong gave a cheeky smile before blinking his eyes towards Wang Zhong. The so-called city he was talking about was naturally not just Tianjing City alone.
Other than the modern splendour of Stuart City, the most eye-catching things present within Stuart City were the various advertisements of the CHF plasters across all the major streets, be it gigantic spinning billboards or gigantic screens. Advertisements were found at every single corner of the Stuart City, with the majority of them showcasing the videos produced by the Mo Family about the 3 great Summoning Masters, 5 great heavy soldiers, assassins, long ranged soldiers as well as the 10 great all rounded experts. Relying on the popularity of these videos, the Mo Family was also trying to strengthen the influence their family possesses.
Upon entering the hotel that was arranged for Tianjing by the hosts, they discovered that there were already many participating squadrons that have arrived in Stuart City. The hotel was already pack to the brim with well known to unknown people. From the crowd, Wang Zhong was even able to spot the little cute boy Lei Bing from Aurora City that had fought against him in the OP. Standing around a few exceedingly sturdy and large men, he wore a strange set of robes to indicate his status as a student of Aurora Academy. The only gripe was them wearing such thick clothes in the middle of summer, causing Wang Zhong to feel hot and sweaty just from looking at them.
This was the first time that he had seen so many students hailing from the all the distant places within the federation. Dressed in various kinds of strange uniforms and possessing unique flairs too inumerable to count, everyone present were brimming with excitement. With everyone being youths, all of them were now brimming with hopes and dreams.
"Hey, fellow student. Which academy do you hail from?" as the Tianjing squadron went forward to register their names, a little fellow with a crew cut walked towards them, speaking out in enthusiastic fashion as he sent his greetings.
"Tianjing Academy."
"Ah? Whew, I'm lucky." the little crew cut fellow clearly hasn't heard of Tianjing Academy, causing him to gawk for a bit before finally reacting. With a smile, he said, "I'm sorry. There're too many squads participating in this CHF. I'm Carmell from the Lightning Dragon Academy! Being allocated to the same hotel makes us friends of fate. There's a cold food meeting held tomorrow within the hotel, and the various great squadrons will all be present in attendance. I hope that our fellow students from Tianjing Academy are able to make it to this meeting. It'll be held at 8pm, and is located at the great hall on the 2nd floor of the hotel."
The little crew cut fellow enthusiastically handed over a simple letter of invitation, before courteously saying his goodbyes and heading towards other people present in the crowd.
"Looks like its quite lively here, huh." said Ma Dong as he took a look at the invitation letter. "I've not heard of a Lightning Dragon Academy, heh? Are they trying to organize a group?"
"Don't underestimate this Lightning Dragon Academy." at this moment, there was already a person cutting in to reply to Ma Dong's words. The one who said those words was a youth wearing a pair of thick rimmed spectacles, holding a large bunch of documents in his hands. "They managed to win their way into the top 16 of the official competition two CHFs ago, and are rated as B rank as a whole through the internal documentation. They're considered to be a veteran squadron of the western area."
"Internal documentation? Where did you get them? Can you let me take a look at them?" Ma Dong felt relatively interested upon hearing the words of the youth. Matters like gathering information was his original job as the leader of the squadron.
"You can go and buy it yourself at the kiosk. Just turn left after exiting that door. It costs a hundred credits for a copy. Anyone can get their hands on it."
"Tskk..how can they be called as internal documentations then." replied Ma Dong as he flung his mouth to a side.
Pushing his spectacles up, a chilling glint flashed across his eyes as the bespectacled male said, "Don't underestimate these documentations! Compared to the information I possessed, there's not a single bit on it that is out of place! Such a documentation list should be the work of some specialists!"
The degree of severity present within his voice spike the interest in everyone. Panning her head over, Hymin asked " Hey, handsome. What the verdict of our Tianjing Academy indicated by the documentation? What's the rank?"
"Tianjing Academy...let me see. I don't think I've see it before…" replied the male as he flipped through the documentation. "The highest ranking given by the documentation is S, with A, B, C, D given successively. There's are too many squadrons that are participating in this year's CHF, about quite a few time more in fact. Therefore, the division between the ranks are naturally more minute. Truthfully speaking, a squadron that is being able to be ranked at B by the documentation could already be considered to be a strong squadron. As for A rank...ah, I've found it."
Raising his head to look at the Tianjing crowd, the male gave a slight cough before continuing. "You're being evaluated within the C rank...there's no need to get disappointed. There are many squadrons that are evaluated to be of D rank within this elimination competition."
It was within expectations that Tianjing Academy wouldn't be able to obtain a high evaluation due to its past results, something that everyone understand in their hearts. It's probable that they did not obtain a straight D ranking due to their victory over Adolf.
Nevertheless, hearing it from someone's mouth still caused them to feel slightly unhappy, though the kind hearted consolation present within the eyes of the bespectacled male caused everyone to feel amicable towards him. With a smile, Wang Zhong said, "I'm Wang Zhong from the Tianjing Squadron. How do I address you?"
Extending his hand out, the bespectacled male replied. "Giant God Peak Academy, Dicaprio. I'm the guy that will surely shock the world in the near future."
Everyone instantly felt sweat seeping out of their foreheads upon hearing his reply; looks like there're quite a few narcissistic fellows present in the competition. After handling their check in and arriving to his room, Wang Zhong received a Skylink message that caused him to feel endless emotions surging within him. It's Carolyn's reply! She has arranged for a meeting! Oh my god! Over the past few days, Wang Zhong always assumed that she had already forgotten about him.
Now, Ma Dong has arrived within the conversation. "Exactly what's the matter needing you to need to have a face to have a face to face conversation with me? I've tossed my beloved Mi mi aside just to hear you speak. Do you see that resentful gaze from her that looked as though she suspect something going on between us?"
"Stop being a lecher and go straight to the point. I need you professional opinion!" said Wang Zhong in a cautious fashion, causing a nervous expression to appear on Ma Dong's face. Just as Wang Zhong had finished with his statement, a furious roar broke out within the room.
"Is that for real?"
"Hush! Do you remember me telling you about her? She's from the Stuart Family! I've never imagined that she…"
"Are you saying that you two have not communicated for such a long time, and that she had arranged a meeting with you just as we had arrived in here?" said Ma Dong in a slow manner after regaining his senses from the initial shock.
"That's right. You know me, right? Truthfully speaking, I don't care what kind of status she has. The only thing I care is whether she has the same kind of thoughts as me. It's better to have both willing parties for such a matter." said Wang Zhong.
"Ha ha! This is the first time I've seen such an expression on your face! I feel that there's no point in being scared about it. Just man it up for today and see for yourself tomorrow! What's more, you're not any weaker than her. Your brother will definitely support you. All the best! If you're able to hook up with the Stuart Family's little princess, it will be equivalent to you will the championship of the CHF!" replied Ma Dong as he pumped his hands and feet in support. Immediately, our professor Ma Dong started to transmit his knowledge to our student Wang Zhong, especially on the mannerisms of aristocrats. Although he wasn't sure that these would have their uses in tomorrow's meeting, getting to know about these would cause him to not treat the hand washing water as drinking water and throw his face in the process.
On the early morning of the second day, Wang Zhong woke up to see Ma Dong carrying a white coloured western suit as he walked over. "Fortunately, there're lots of 24 hour shopping districts in Stuart. Come, wear this! When meeting with the goddess, dressing up properly is the least you can do!"
"Why does it have to be such an egg white white again? Can the style be changed?" said Wang Zhong as he rubbed his nose. "Won't to be too ostentatious? Carolyn doesn't care about these things. I feel that its better for me to dress in a more casual fashion."
"Fuck! How can you not be ostentatious when chasing ladies? What's more, don't you know what kind of place the imperial flower gardens are? If you are dressed in anything more casual, you might not be even able to enter their grounds!" laying the western suit on the bed, Ma Dong continued with his berating. "This is something that your brother had picked after running around a few shopping districts. This is a 100% pure gentlemen's outfit! Hurry up and stop hesitating already!"