Tempest of the Battlefield

Actually, the special intensive training was not as hectic as it seemed once all of them had gotten used to it. Moreover, it wasn’t as scary as the public imagined.

D-Day had gotten closer.

Meanwhile, the representatives of Capth had gathered around. This time, their main candidates would be comprising of first-grader freshmen, and the seniors would be serving as their backup supports. No special preparations were made since each day in the academy felt like intensive training!

After years of trial and error, S-Ranked academies had finally developed an ideal set of elite education system in recent years, that would foster a great number of quality-assured elites in no time.

Capth was already famous among talented youngsters since it was an S-Ranked academy. Furthermore, the academy happened to have its own intel gathering group which spread all over the galaxy, "head-hunting" for talented young ones. Once they found someone, whether the person was an Earthling, Ivantian, Martian or Kaedeian, they’d do whatever it took to get the person to enroll in Capth.

That was how an S-Ranked academy operated.

Tens of students were seen gathering in a classroom. They were all minding their own business; some were watching stuff, some were chit-chatting, and some were even sleeping. A few of them were also day-dreaming while staring outside the window. All of them seemed to be waiting for someone.

Minutes later, a middle-aged man opened the door and walked into the classroom.

The fifty-three-year-old man was Halmond Sandler, Capth’s vice principal, who had been working at the academy for more than twenty years. Obviously, the principal of Capth would not be interested in dealing with the "weaklings" from Ayrlarng and Bernabeu. Basically, the principal would only be seen during big events like the academy’s founding ceremony and so on. After all, principals of S-Ranked academies would be busier in both politics and military events compared to principals of A-Ranked academies.

Capth itself had four vice principals. However, they were not to be underrated as they were even busier and more hardworking than most of the principals of A-Ranked academies. Vice Principal Halmond was in charge of external affairs, like academic exchange programs. He had been doing this for five years, and Capth remained as the unrivaled titan in every event.

"Attention." Halmond clapped and gathered the team, "I assumed everyone knows why you’re here."

"Sir, our opponents are just a bunch of A-Ranked weaklings. What’s all of this?" One of the students asked.

Apparently, there seemed to be too many aces in a single team for this time. Normally, Capth would only gather a team like this if they were to take on another same ranked academy. For instance, if the opposing S-Ranked academy’s team were formed by freshmen, they would also be sending out a team of freshmen. If seniors were included in the opponent’s team, they would also do the same, and normally, Capth would only send out freshmen if their opponent were A-Ranked academies.

However, it seemed serious this time.

Earth Confederation’s first and second best players were chosen for Battlecraft Combat. As for METAL Combat, there was the first graders’ No.1, and also a few elites, while the other elites amongst first graders were chosen for the other categories as well. It seemed a little too much since they were only up against the lower ranked academies.

Halmond smiled and continued, "I believe there are a few more coming in. I’ll begin to explain when the others arrive."

The rest of the students seemed surprised. They were already the best of the best, who else would they need?

Two seniors walked in a few minutes later. Mot only were those two the top-notches amongst second graders, but also the first and second best players in the Battlecraft Combat category. Everyone was startled by their appearance.

However, they weren’t the only ones Halmond was waiting for. He nodded as soon as he heard another footstep approaching.

A girl walked into the classroom, a lady from a noble family to be exact.

Here name was Li Ruo-er. Although surname Li was one of the most common surnames in Earth, she was not common at all, because she was the descendant of the House of Li, and also happened to be the younger sister of Li Shimin, the Little Emperor. She was one of Capth’s new recruits for this year. Capth was founded by General Li Feng, which was why House of Li’s descendants would pick Capth if they were to enroll in any academy. In fact, every descendant of House if Li was given an extraordinary level of freedom in this academy, and they had the rights to choose not to learn tactics taught in the academy for obvious reasons. They were also given absolute freedom in terms of learning and studying.

Everyone knew Li Ruo-er had enrolled in Capth, but she was barely seen attending classes since she had the right to do so. Nevertheless, everyone was stunned by her amazing elegance.

Apparently, she was also practicing Tactics of the Enchantress, which explained the kaleidoscopic aura and charm that was able to fascinate its beholder!

Everyone was drawn to her as soon as she stepped in. Although Li Ruo-er was only wearing ordinary school uniform, it felt like she was wearing an expensive gown instead. It took quite a while for fellow elites to regain themselves.

"Ahem, so it seems like there’s no need for me to make any introduction. Now, let’s begin the briefing. As all of you know, Capth’s academic exchange with the other five A-Ranked academies will be held in five days from now."

"Sir, we have this every year, but why are we including Ms. Li Ruo-er and the other two seniors this time?" Wally said. He was the top student of Command Force amongst first graders who would be participating in METAL Combat.

Halmond gently lifted his hand and got their attention, "There are two reasons behind all of these. First, the academy’s founding ceremony is approaching, so we have to make sure to win in every round. Second, this time, we have to be more careful and not underestimate some of the students from the A-Ranked academies."

The students seemed to not be paying much attention as they were seen still doing their own stuff while Halmond was speaking, because they were confident that no one would ever be able to outrace them even they were to take everything at their own pace. While their enemies were busy trying to figure out how to defeat them, all they had to do was to bring out their best performances during D-Day.

Their strong sense of arrogance originated from their actual strength, and also the pride of being one of Capth’s students.

Halmond shook his head and continued, "Wally, I suggest you not to underestimate them. Apparently, Bernabeu, which had been one of the top five A-Ranked academies, was defeated by Ayrlarng last time. And this time, both of these academies are teaming up to challenge us. Not to mention the Battlecraft Combat boy genius Best would be representing Bernabeu this time. Are you guys confident in defeating him?"

Although the top freshmen players were strong, they were not confident in beating Best at all. Flash, Bisu, and Best were known as the Marvelous Trio in Battlecraft Combat. Unlike METAL Combat, Battlecraft Combat emphasized on talent instead of experience. These three boys were crowned as the geniuses of Battlecraft Combat, and they were basically unrivaled.

Flash was known for his amazing perspective while Bisu was famous for his unbelievable controlling maneuvers, and Best was a genius in operating maneuvers, which explained why they were the Marvelous Trio in this category. Only Flash and Bisu had what it took to handle Best. After all, Capth couldn’t afford to lose as the founding ceremony was drawing nearer.

"Mr. Halmond, I’ll be able to handle Best by myself. There’s no need of dragging big brother into this mess. It’s a bit too much for both of us to handle Best himself only."

"Haha, things would be easier if there’s only Best that requires our attention. However, someone was able to defeat Best during the match between Ayrlarng and Bernabeu. Apparently, his opponent had owned him by using only controlling maneuvers." Everyone was stunned when they heard about it from Halmond.

"...That’s absurd! Is he that bad already?"

"No, he’s not. In fact, he had improved a lot after receiving lessons from FlyWing, and the kid had been training hard in order to defeat the two of you. However, rumor has it that his opponent was able to KO him by demonstrating an amazing Cloning Technique, and got him surrounded by two hundred and thirteen fleets. Since you’re good in this Bisu, any thoughts?"

"Seriously? I didn’t expect the dying Ayrlarng had such a genius in their team."

"Anyhow, we must win at all cost. Ms. Li Ruo-er, I’m sure you know why you’re here."

"Mr. Halmond, you can leave Ma Xiaoru to me. To be honest, I’ve been longing to have a duel with her." Li Ruo-er smiled. Her gentle voice was truly mesmerizing.

Variability and charm had always been Tactics of the Enchantress’s greatest weapons, uncertainty was the key to gaining total control.

"I’m counting on you then." Halmond nodded. Finally, the rest were aware of the seriousness of this upcoming event. No one was truly confident in winning against the House of Ma’s descendant who was extraordinarily skillful in Tactics of the Enchantress. However, Li Ruo-er still had the upper hand compared to Ma Xiaoru.

House of Li versus House of Ma, the battle between two "enchantresses", everyone seemed excited about it.

"Aside from that, Apache was also one of the alliance’s aces. He is another one not to be underestimated. Not to mention, the other academies had also been busy training their own aces in recent years. So please take note about this. Our opponents might be strong, but we are stronger… We are the victors, and we are invincible. We will be celebrating the upcoming founder’s ceremony with our victory for sure!"

"Haha, Mr. Halmond, I’m sure we’re definitely gonna crush them, since Flash, Bisu and Li Ruo-er are joining us this time." Wally laughed.

"By the way, where’s Wang Ben? Wally, didn’t you tell him we’re having a briefing?" Although Wang Ben’s situation was kind of complicated, his participation would definitely boost Capth’s chances of winning. Not to mention the fact that he was strong and very familiar with Ayrlarng, even though Capth needed none of that information to win, the academy wished Wang Ben could participate in one of the fights to prove his strength and also boost their reputation.

"I did, but I think Wang Ben didn’t wish to take part." Wally shrugged. He wasn’t very happy with Wang Ben because he felt that his No.1 title was being challenged. After all, Fist of the Racing Tiger was not something to be underestimated.

As soon as he said that, Wang Ben walked into the classroom with a straight face. It seemed like he had gone back to his old self upon enrolling in Capth. He didn’t make any friends, but had been training non-stop instead.

"Sorry for being late, I was training just now." Wang Ben said.

"Haha, no worries. Take a seat, Mr. Wang Ben. I heard you do not wish to take part in this competition, am I right?" Halmond asked.

"No, I’d love to take part." Wang Ben sat down and said calmly.

"Oh, I see. However, something tells me that you’re having doubts about our chances of winning." Halmond joked.

"Yes, our chances of winning are not as high as we imagine, because our opponents are stronger than we’ve expected!" Wang Ben commented in a straight tone. He was behaving like how he used to be before mind-opened. Apparently, he had locked himself again upon arriving in this new environment.