The Card Apprentice

Seeing the terrible performance of his men, Wen Zuofu, who had already been close to losing his wits due to anger, exploded. “Damn it! Everyone, stop!” His bellow passed through the amplifier and resounded in every corner of the battlefield.

Everyone was stunned, unconsciously coming to a halt. The authority Wen Zuofu had gained over the years in the Downstream Alliance had already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the masses. Card artisans gradually stopped, and the situation slowly calmed down. Each of them was at a loss, not understanding what had just happened.

“Fools!” mocked one of the battle card artisans who couldn’t suppress himself.

“Robert, you can’t expect them to be as well-trained as us,” someone beside him said, laughing.

“That may be so. I wonder what they can do on a battlefield. I can’t understand why the boss hired such trash,” Robert said coldly.

“Ha ha, they’re just right in proving our worth. How else will the boss understand that we’re so valuable?”

“Enough!” the square-faced head card artisan broke in coldly. “On your guard! You’ve seen the adversary’s tactics, so don’t make a blunder now.” He was Xiwente, the leader of the group of battle card artisans.

“Rest assured, Chief. They can’t scare us with just these. Not a chance,” Robert said offhandedly.

Xiwente nodded, unspeaking. As his eyes swept across those blank-faced card artisans, he couldn’t help but show some contempt.

Wen Zuofu felt as though he was about to go mad with rage. He was shivering all over like a wolf with its back to the wall. He glared at his men. The valley below was still burning, and the heat rose. Wen Zuofu felt hot and dry everywhere. The painstaking effort of many years had gone up in flames. Such pain was akin to grilling him on a fierce fire.

As for the terrible performance of the card artisans, it seemed like the enemy’s silent derision. However, Wen Zuofu had seen big scenes, after all. He took in a deep breath. Cold air entered his lungs, and his mind was cleared instantly. Even if the battle shuttle cars are gone, my remaining forces are still more than sufficient in taking down the snow silkworm ravine.

“Xiwente, you take command,” Wen Zuofu said with a dark face. He had made up his mind. No matter what happens this time, the snow silkworm ravine must be trampled! Not crushing the snow silkworm ravine was not enough to release the hatred in his heart.

Xiwente was slightly baffled but immediately answered, “Yes!” He had usually been in charge of only the battle card artisans in missions and didn’t expect the boss to actually want him to be the chief commander.

The ordinary card artisans began to reorganize under Xiwente’s command. Nonetheless, they evidently did not have experience with large-scale combat. The reorganization of more than 1,000 men took nearly ten minutes.

Xiwente frowned a little and flew to Wen Zuofu’s side. “Boss, they have no experience with large-scale combat. Why not break them down into smaller groups? They are more familiar with that style of battle.”

Wen Zuofu gave it a little thought, felt that it made sense, and nodded. “Ok.”

The card artisans were usually about ten or so in a group when carrying out missions. How could they have had experience with the type of war involving more than 1,000? Such a terrible performance was to be expected. As Wen Zuofu figured that out, he regretted it deeply.

After a head count, it was discovered that in the mayhem a moment ago, more than 100 had died, and the injured numbered more than 200. Once that result came out, Wen Zuofu’s face became white with rage. Among those, more than half were accidental injuries caused by his own men.

If he had known the adversary had only been a single individual, he might have coughed up his heart, liver, and lungs in a fit of anger.

* * *

“They are coming.”

Inside the Starfish Fort were Chen Mu, Wei-ah, and Jiang Liang. Having rested after accomplishing the mission earlier, Chen Mu had regained his usual energy.

The Starfish Fort had an extremely clever disguise and was difficult to spot with just naked eyes. On the other hand, scanning-type cards normally only worked for energy fluctuations. In the case of a pillbox buried meters deep in disguise, how could they find it?

Come to think of it, it was Chen Mu’s first time entering the Starfish Fort.

The Starfish Fort, which they made Tang Hanpei spend a huge sum on, was far more difficult to construct than ordinary pillboxes. Its shape was that of a starfish, with the center being the control room and the five arms being firing points.

One Starfish Fort was already one battle unit. Its biggest advantage was a characteristic other protection units did not have. If the energy bodies fired from its five arms were ones of the same frequency and the same construction, resonance would then be produced, and the five energy bodies would be driven to unleash greater power.

The Starfish Fort was highly sought after for that magnifying effect, but few knew how to construct it. The control room and the firing points had many ribbon-like objects linking them. There was also a special screen in the control room that allowed commanding staff in the room to make assessments of the situation in the field based on the scenes displayed. Thus, card artisans in the heat of battle could be effectively coordinated.

Every firing point had a battle unit set up, which meant there were at least 15 card artisans in a Starfish Fort. The assistant observer in one of the units was also in charge of controlling the whole situation. Originally, the control room had needed a specially designated person for itself, but Chen Mu was already short of manpower.

Where could more men be found? Bogner had taken 50 card artisans away with him, and Xiaobo was by Xi Ping’s side. Chen Mu was indeed short of combat power.

Jiang Liang gazed at the enemies on the screen, his expression as per usual. His gaze swept across the boss accidentally, and some feeling of lamentation rose in his heart. In the past, he had never imagined he would one day be working for a boss younger than himself. As for the boss himself, Jiang Liang still couldn’t fathom him. He didn’t like to speak, knew many things, and was highly skilled. Even his perception was stronger than Jiang Liang’s before the injury.

Before getting injured, Jiang Liang had been a genius who attracted much attention. A youth more talented than me? Even the thought of it baffled him.

What astonished him most was the boss’s manner of doing things. By right, with such achievements at such a young age, it could be described as enjoying success while young. However, not a teeny bit of impetuosity or frivolity could be seen on him. He was calm and collected, slow in speech, and quick in action. He never sought quick success.

The identity of the boss had always been a mystery. Nobody knew where he came from nor where had he learned his skills. There was that Wei-ah, too—so strong it was almost beyond reason. Even in the military, Jiang Liang had never seen such a frighteningly capable ace, especially an almost extinct cardless sect ace.

All of that only made Jiang Liang curious and had no effect on the gratitude he felt toward the boss. Without the boss, his life would have always been dull and colorless. Previously, he had never imagined his perception could recover. Besides, he could sense the boss’s trust in him. During the time he had been injured, he had worked for some others but had never had such treatment.

Gentlemen would die for those who appreciated them, wouldn’t they?

Jiang Liang straightened his back, his eyes profound. As for the guys on the screen, his lips curved into a cold smile. What really made him wary were the few hundreds of battle shuttle cars. That’s why he took a chance in getting Hertha to lay out all the card appliances on the adversary’s only path.

He had bet on the adversary’s belittlement. As it turned out, he was right in his bet! Quietly, the difference in strength between the two sides had been reduced to a point where he was no longer afraid.

The snow silkworm ravine was just in front of Wen Zuofu.

The ravine was quiet. The narrow path between the two steep mountain peaks was only about ten meters in width. It was eerily deep, twisted, and dark, making those who saw it feel somewhat scared.

Wen Zuofu asked Xiwente through gritted teeth, “From which direction are we attacking?” He would have loved to turn his adversaries into scattered ashes right then and there so as to appease the hatred in his heart.

Xiwente glanced at the snow silkworm ravine, hesitant. The adversaries still hadn’t revealed themselves. Chances were they were already waiting for them inside. Entering via the mouth of the ravine was as good as seeking death.

Having pondered for a moment, he suggested, “Send 200 up to fly over. We’ll attack from above.”

Two hundred men flew into the sky noisily and in disarray, making Xiwente shake his head. Large-scale wars and small-group combat were two different matters entirely. Those card artisans had rather limited use in such large-scale wars.

Two hundred card artisans, with their energy cloaks activated, flew straight for a mountain peak. Once over it, everything in the ravine would be revealed to them.

A beam of cold light flashed in Jiang Liang’s eyes. With no expression on his face, he ordered, “Fort Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, strike them down.”

Just as the words left his mouth, 25 energy shuttles flew straight for those 200 men in the sky. The 200 card artisans seemed like 200 targets. With their energy cloaks up, they were exceedingly conspicuous in the sky. The card artisans inside the Starfish Fort locked on effortlessly.

A sudden and weird whizz made everyone jump.

Ping!

Sharp cracking sounds were perfectly in time. More than 20 figures suddenly plummeted from the sky. The echoing wails sounded as though they were still next to one’s ears. The more than 100 card artisans left in the sky all felt their hearts skipping a beat.

What a formidable attack! The adversary’s energy shuttles could penetrate their energy cloaks with such ease. How could that not strike fear into their hearts?

They could finally see it clearly. The energy shuttles were fired from the peak.

Many deactivated their energy cloaks at once and changed to battle fantasy cards. Since the energy cloak card was of no use, it might as well be removed to make it harder for the adversary to see them.

Just in those few moments, however, the adversary launched another round of attack. Another 20 or more card artisans fell from the sky!

With that, the card artisans were thoroughly frightened.

What… what is this firing frequency? This accuracy?