The Card Apprentice

“The Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team was the most mysterious and secretive Card Artisan Team. They rarely interacted with the other Card Artisan Teams. However, during their glory days, they were way ahead of other Card Artisan Teams. There were five core members in the team, just like the five petals of the hibiscus. Unlike the other Card Artisan Teams that were full of politics and always fighting against each other for their own benefits, the five members were very close to each other and had the relationship of a family. Moreover, they were all heroic and carried incredible reputations. However, there were very little people who had actually seen them in real life.”

Old Wang counted with his fingers, “The Black King, Bosnian wolves, Knife Pull, Enticer Fox and Flying Knit. All of them were incredibly impactful back then.”

That was a story from approximately ten years ago. It sounded distant and mysterious for the young people. Without realizing, a group of people had surrounded Old Wang. Wu Yan, who was leading, seemed to have not heard Old Wang’s narration. His scar on his face that resembled a hashtag was as though it was engraved unto a rock. His deep gaze seemed to almost penetrate through the dense wood.

“The Black King was their boss and the most mysterious person in the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team. However, the rest of them were very respectful towards him.”

“Bosnian Wolf contributed the most to the growth of Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team in their path to being the strongest card artisan team. In fact, Bosnian Wolf was never a ferocious beast. However, it was precisely this Wolf that personally created the strongest battle force in the Federation. He was a great instructor. There was no defeat in his history of battles. The battle that gave them the reputation of the strongest card artisan team was the battle with the Sixth Military Force!” Wang Yong’s face was painted with indescribable admiration.

“The Sixth Military Force!”

The young card artisans who were surrounding him were all dumbfounded. Their widened eyes were filled with disbelief! All the members from any Card Artisan Team agreed on one thing, and that was to never get into trouble with the Army and any party that was related to the Army!

The Army was the strongest force in the Federation. Their status was the same in the Great Six too! They were the real killing machines. Regardless of how strong a Card Artisan Team was, being in front of them would only make the team appear as a pathetic and weak coward. For instance, the Blood Hammer Unit could definitely be ranked as one of the top three if they were rated based on the military force among the Card Artisan Teams in Moon Frost Island. They could even be ranked as one of the top ten if they were to compete with all the Card Artisan Teams in the entire Federation.

However, they would never fight with the Army.

The Sixth Military Force had five divisions, and each consisted of 20,000 people. There were 10 teams of 2,000 people under every division. In the Sixth Military Force, even the team with the worst battle skill could easily wipe them out even if the opponent had almost the same amount of people.

This was the real power of the Army! That was also the reason why the 12 military forces did not interfere when the Great Six were busy fighting against each other. It would be a total disaster for the Federation if the Army joined the battle.

“Yes. Back then, the leader of the Sixth Military Force was not Lord Zhi Tingman, but was Lord Tong Hua. No one knew the reason behind the fight. However, the Sixth Military Force sent out half of a division, which was five teams, with a total of 10,000 troops to ambush the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team.”

“Wow! Is that true? They were that arrogant? I like it!” Qi Li shouted with both of his eyes brightened.

“Half a division, 10,000 people…” The other card artisans looked at each other. They thought that they were listening to a mythical tale. Not even half the division, they only needed three Military Groups in order to easily annihilate the Blood Tinge Card Artisan Team. The Federation certainly did not have enough Card Artisan Teams to defend themselves from half a division of the Army.

“Yes. All the Card Artisan Teams in the entire Federation were confident that the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team would be obliterated. No one foresaw that the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team would successfully break the circumference made of the five teams. Not only that, the Sixth Military Force lost 1,000 people in that battle, together with their ninth team leader who was slaughtered. This incident turned the Sixth Military Force into the laughing stock of the Federation. Lord Tong Hua, too, resigned out of guilt. The most surprising thing was that the Army did not wipe out the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team. The incident strangely quieted down and the Sixth Military Force did not have any intention to dwell on it. However, this battle immediately raised the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team to the place of the first card artisan team. It also spread the name of the Bosnian Wolf, who had lead this battle, all over the world. When the incident cooled down, five army troops, including the Sixth and First Military Force, simultaneously expressed their intention to recruit Bosnian Wolf, hoping that he could accept the offer to take the position of Chief of Staff in their respective military forces,” When the story reached this point, Wang Yong felt a little thirsty. He opened his water bottle and took a gulp from it to moisturize his throat.

“Then? What happened next?” An impatient card artisan asked.

Looking at the anticipation in the card artisans’ gazes, Wang Yong felt considerably satisfied, “Ahem, the Wolf declined the offers! He declined it in a clear-cut manner!”

“Such a waste!” The crowd heaved a sigh of disappointment. They could not understand how there was still a person who would not be moved by the offer of the position of Chief of Staff of a Military Force.

“Such a strong character!” Qi Li snapped his fingers loudly. His messy hair made him stick out like a sore thumb while he asked curiously, “Old Wang, what happened to the remaining three?”

“Knife Pull was the strongest card artisan in the team. People say that he carried the character of a fire and was the most competitive person! He used a card named the Gyro-breaking Knife and it was able to release energy blades in the shape of a knife. He was the one who killed the leader of the Ninth Military Group. Unlike his other team members, Knife Pull was interested in challenging the other card artisans. He had defeated countless card artisans.”

The scar on Wu Yan’s face twitched unnoticeably.

“He must have great capability to be able to defeat and kill a Military Group leader of the Army. I only wonder how was the capability of the Army’s Military Group leader,” Qi Li raised his voice suddenly to ask Wu Yan from the back, “Boss, can you kill the leader of the Army?”

Wu Yan briefly paused his steps, “I can’t.”

“Wow, then he must be really strong!” Qi Li exclaimed.

“Regarding Enticer Fox, rumour says that he was a player, hence, the name of Enticer. However, Enticer Fox was good at many unusual things, especially tracking. In the Federation, he was the best tracking expert, forest expert and mechanical expert,” Wang Yong flashed an awkward smile, “I might have studied about forest tracking, however, I’m nothing compared to the Enticer Fox. He wrote a short thesis regarding tracking and that thesis has been the textbook for everyone who was learning about tracking. I’ve learned a lot of skills from that thesis too.”

Qi Li hurriedly comforted him, “Old Wang, you shouldn’t feel discouraged. I do admire your skills a lot,” Seeing how upset Old Wang was, Qi Li quickly turned to a new topic, “Old Wang, how about that one called Flying Knit?”

“Flying Knit was a woman and she was in charge of the administration and was one of the top administrators in the Federation. Under her management, Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team had worked efficiently and neatly,” Wang Yong barely pulled himself together as he said, “According to hearsay, Flying Knit eventually married Bosnian Wolf. Back then, many people suspected that she was the reason that Wolf rejected the Army’s offer.”

Qi Li asked curiously as he listened to the story, “Old Wang, if the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team was so strong, why are they no longer here?”

Wang Yong said ruefully, “No one in this world could stay at their peak forever. However, the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team’s disappearance was unexpected. They vanished abruptly at the Eastern Row District. Until today, no one can solve the puzzle of their disappearance. Ever since then, no one has seen any of the members of the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team anymore. No one knows what happened to them. How could a Card Artisan Team that could contend half of the Army’s troops disappear so easily?”

His tone was filled with sentiment.

Wu Yan, who had been walking ahead quietly, spoke suddenly, “I’ve let all of you finish listening to the story. Now everyone, increase your speed! Qi Li and Wang Yong, lead the team!”

The card artisans around Wang Yong promptly dismissed themselves. Wang Yong’s face was painted with displeasure while Qi Li mumbled, “It was just a short story…”

Shi Fengfei looked at the two embarrassed figures before shifting her gaze to Wu Yan. She appeared as if she was contemplating about something.

“Turns out even a lazy bum like you would have some good standards. I was suspecting if you were a barbarian,” Xi Ping said while he sipped on his green tea deliciously. As they entered the forest, the situation was better than what he expected. Bogner was very familiar with the forest, hence, the journey was very smooth to the extent that it felt like a field trip.

“Barbarian?” Bogner, who was half lying down, rolled his eyes, “You old thief, no good words can be expected from a scoundrel like you.”

“Commander Bog, can we get rid of the Blood Tinge Card Artisan Team?” Lu Xiaoru, who just squeezed herself into the Commander’s Shuttle, could not help but ask.

“Commander Bog…” Bogner’s expression became stunned as he muttered, “Bog is not my surname!” He then realized everyone in the shuttle was attracted by Lu Xiaoru’s question. Without any other option, he stretched his body and sat upright with a strenuous effort, “That’s not an easy task. The Blood Tinge Card Artisan Team is quite capable. What do you think? If you were embarrassed in front of so many people, what would you do?”

“Regain my reputation!” Lu Xiaoru answered in a firm tone.

“Yes, yes! Youngsters are so enthusiastic!” Bogner said in a teasing manner. The rest of them rolled their eyes at him. He smiled as he could not be bothered and rubbed his bruised chin with his right hand, “The Blood Hammer Unit must be following us very closely. I reckon that they need merely two days to catch up with us.”

“Two days? That’s very close!” Ru Qiu said as she raised her head.

All of sudden, she turned to look at Sue Lochiro, pouted and said, “I wonder if the things Sister Lochiro set up yesterday are useful? I spent a lot of effort to help and it was very tiring. What if they can’t find us? Does it mean that all our efforts will be in vain?”

Sue Lochiro seemed indifferent, but a hint of reluctance flashed across her eyes.

“Don’t worry. If they are that bad at tracking, they will all die in the forest without us making a move. That will save us from taking action,” Bogner yawned and lied down lazily. He nagged, “I’m old now. My body can’t stand working so much.”

Xi Ping, who was savouring his tea, choked and laughed in a contemptuous manner, “Since when did a lazy bum like you need an excuse to sleep?”

Everyone else couldn’t help but to smile when they heard this.

Meanwhile, Jiang Liang sat upright with a solemn and murderous expression.