The Card Apprentice

Apart from his excellent physical strength, Zola was able to take on the responsibility to be the caption of that team because of his extraordinary tactical literacy, which was another reason Tang Hanpei had him take on such an important job. To be a captain, making reasonably accurate judgements was far more important than his fighting strength.

“We need to land! I don’t have enough in my power card!” A card artisan said in a panic.

Once he said that, the other card artisans’ looks all changed, as they saw that the power cards in their apparatuses were all bottomed out! If they were to use up their energy, they could fall straight to their death from midair. When they most needed to do just then was to immediately land on the ground and swap out a new power card.

Zola’s heart abruptly skipped a beat, as a bout of chill rose up along his spine. Could his adversary have included even the detail of the energy cards in his plans?

“Everyone dodge for five hundred meters in the direction of three o’clock, and then land!” There wasn’t enough time to think in any detail, and he gave the peremptory order.

“No good! I don’t have enough power!” That card artisan just then had no color in his face, and just then he couldn’t say anything more, as he bent over and flew to the ground!

“Damn!” Zola cursed to himself, without being able to say any more. To stay for even a moment where he was would be to increase the danger by a notch. The other card artisans were a little flustered by then, and Zola’s orders immediately brought them back from their stunned state. They quickly followed Zola flying in the direction of three o’clock.

By that time, each of them displayed their power with their dazzling tactical dodging actions. Even Chen Mu couldn’t completely lock them in and couldn’t help feeling chilled.

Just when Zola was ordering the remaining ten card artisans to fly in the direction of three o’clock, another large cluster of red bombs drilled out from the cloud to their left!

Damn! Zola closed his eyes without any strength, knowing that that card artisan who had just flown down was certain to die!

Anticipation. Another time lag!

The huge blast which came from below swallowed that card artisan in the instant of its blast. In such a terrifyingly powerful blast, there would be nothing left but ashes! In reality, there wouldn’t even be any ashes left.

Damn, you sure did pay a price!

“Land!”

The remaining ten card artisans each carved perfect arcs as they flew toward the ground.

Chen Mu somewhat regretted that he had only killed one card artisan that round. That gang of card artisans’ leader had penetrated his second line of attack, which made him not dare to be careless.

“Keep up and be careful.”

After he said that, Chen Mu then quietly went back into the clouds, to get more near to his adversary’s landing site.

Up until then, the entire plan had been perfectly implemented, and apart from his adversary’s landing spot being a little off from his estimate, being five hundred meters off wasn’t going to cause his setup to come to nothing.

Zola didn’t dare to slack off in the least, with his adversary seeming like a really good hand at chess; each of his moves was extremely clever. He didn’t believe that his adversary didn’t have something in reserve. Unless something happened, his adversary should have laid out an ambush in the vicinity of the landing spot. That anticipated time lag just then had been carried out very accurately. If it weren’t for him quickly seeing what was happening, he was afraid the entire team would have been annihilated.

“Five of you stand guard in the air, and five of you land to swap cards!” Zola shouted in a low voice. He looked very uptight; his adversary’s step-by-step press of oppression took his breath away.

The two sides now seemed to be in a race, and what came next would be the critical thing to decide the outcome. If Zola and the rest succeeded in swapping out their cards, although they wouldn’t have any way to get back to their peak condition, they would have above seventy percent of their power, which would be enough for them to grab the victory.

But he was pretty certain that his adversary would think up every possible way to block them from swapping out their power cards.

If they didn’t swap cards, they would only face death. Really powerful card artisans without energy couldn’t bring any power into play.

Quickly checking the power in his energy card, there was only not quite seven percent. That data made the expression on Zola’s face shift. Not even having seven percent meant that he could fire off two attacks at most. After those two attacks, he would have to complete the landing and swap cards, otherwise, he could fall directly to his death from midair.

The one who set things up had that point included in his plans!

If you were to say that Zola still had some doubt just then, then by now he certainly didn’t have any doubt! Up until then, he had made the horrible discovery that every step they took was expected by his adversary. From the beginning until then, the rhythm and initiative for the fight had all been in the hands of his adversary.

Wanting to understand that, he immediately realized that his adversary wouldn’t let that critical weak point pass by.

His gaze was looking back and forth nervously along the bottom of the forest, where there was a mess on the ground. The tall firs had just been ravaged by the shock waves, and there were branches all over, there being basically no clear space. The shock wave from the blast just then was too fierce; Zola had never seen such a fierce explosion! That red bomb had a lot more power than any ordinary bomb, and Zola felt suspiciously that it was certainly part of his adversary’s scheme.

Paralyzing them by the shape of the bomb, in actuality its internal composition was certainly not a bomb. What a treacherous fellow! He thought of those fools who hadn’t dodged but used their energy cloaks to hard-shoulder the red bombs, and could only feel grief for them.

Then suddenly a weak energy fluctuation was transmitted from midair. Including Zola, there were six card artisans in midair, who went on guard immediately.

That bout of energy fluctuation was perfectly weak, but those left alive were all true aces!

He had long expected his adversary to have something in reserve, and that bout of energy fluctuation must have been his adversary’s hidden killer. Since the energy fluctuation was perfectly weak, and it looked like they were rather far away, Zola’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Sniper card artisans?

The more he thought about it the more likely that seemed. Zola couldn’t help calling out, “Pay attention and dodge. Our adversary might have sniper card artisans. Take defense and counter strike!”

The six card artisans in midair acted as though they were facing a big enemy, and Zola’s warning had abruptly chilled their hearts!

If one looked carefully, their bodies had been in a state of motion all along. That way they wouldn’t consume too much energy and could evade being locked-in by the enemy hiding in the dark. Their minds were on fire, as each of them had been through countless battles, but had still never been forced to such an extreme by any enemy! Still, they didn’t go against Zola’s orders. The power cards in their apparatuses were already bottoming out, and the most urgent thing for them was to get through that period.

Just wait for our five comrades to swap out their power cards, and then you’ll await our ire! Even if they are sniper card artisans, we’ll tear them to pieces.

Every one of the card artisans was spitting fire from their eyes, and up until then, they still hadn’t seen any one of their enemy. If their strength wasn’t up to snuff, that would be the end of it, but not to have seen a single one of their enemy like that was killing them, and they felt extremely sullen.

The five card artisans who were landing sped up, even though they were facing crisscrossing broken branches which were piled all over in disorder, giving them basically no place to put their feet down. But by then those five card artisans didn’t care about anything, as they flew toward those broken trees on the ground.

In the instant they touched down, they couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief! The feeling of ground beneath their feet finally gave them a little feeling of safety. But those huge round logs weren’t such a great landing place, and they had to very carefully keep their balance. But they knew that it was the most critical time, and in order to steady themselves, they didn’t have the least regard for what they looked like. Some of the card artisans were half lying on the logs, and some were mounting them, while some used their two feet to hook into the crooks in the branches, all in really weird postures.

As they steadied themselves, they all pulled out the used-up energy cards from their apparatuses

Watching that unfold, Zola finally heaved a sigh of relief in the air. Now they only needed to insert the new card into the apparatus, and they would win. Those card artisans were all richly battle-experienced types, and although they previously had taken their adversary lightly, now they didn’t dare to slack off in the least. They nervously fixed on where that weak energy fluctuation was coming form.

Zhou Liang’s face had turned a little white, but he wasn’t actually frozen. He had experience quite a few actual battles, but had never encountered such a dangerous and urgent situation. Having received a formal education, of course he wasn’t just any idiot. He knew that they had fallen into a well-designed ring of ambush. Up until then, they hadn’t had any energy to fight back, which was a really messed up feeling.

Without any pity, he tossed out the used up four-star energy card, and touched his hand to his waist where a four-star energy card had been put into the card wallet there. But unlike the rest of the card artisans who were stifling any noise as they swapped their cards, he was staring at the boss, and looking all around vigilantly.

He didn’t believe that the ambushers who had presented themselves as foolproof all along previously would give them such an obvious breather.

And then just then, he suddenly glimpsed a dark shadow flash by out of the corner of his eyes.

Zhou Liang felt shocked and then just as he was about to open his mouth to shout, there was sudden pain at his throat, and everything went black as he lost consciousness.

The wind and snow increased, and the visibility itself became very low, on top of which were the fir trees scattered together, whose dense branches could easily block a person’s line of sight.

Zola was in midair where he had been thinking about a problem: His adversary certainly had someone behind him.

He didn’t have the least doubt about that determination. Someone who could lay out that scene would absolutely use that tactic.

From landing until finishing swapping the cards would absolutely require no more than ten seconds. He couldn’t imagine that there would be any way to be able to break through their protective circle to destroy those five people within ten seconds. For a card artisan to launch an attack within close range, there would be no way to evade detection. Most of the card artisans among them were grade-seven card artisans!

That bout of weak energy fluctuations was rather far from them, and he hadn’t discovered any energy or perceptual fluctuations within a range of a kilometer.

But without knowing how, he had some kind of premonition that his adversary certainly had some contingency move! His adversary had advanced and dug in step by step, and the two accurate anticipatory time lags showed the excellent tactical ability of the one who laid it out.

If it were himself, what would he do?

Zola frowned, and thought hard about it. Just then he suddenly glimpsed a black shadow flash by out of the corner of his eyes!

He stared blankly as the blood drained completely from his face. Then suddenly he finally realized his adversary’s means!

Cardless sects. As much as he had thought about it, why hadn’t he thought that his adversary would actually use the cardless sects!

It was as though Zola was plunged into an ice house as his whole body went cold, and the bone-chilling feeling spread through his whole body.

Two of them. There were two from the cardless sects!

Those two cardless sect fighters were like two black lightening flashes, as they wandered among the five card artisans with shocking speed. And having just pulled out their power cards, those five card artisans were like lambs awaiting slaughter in front of them, without any power to fight back. Facing the cardless sects, card artisans without energy were shockingly fragile!

In the blink of any eye the card artisans were silently put down, and the two remaining card artisans still hadn’t felt it.

Zola’s eyes turned red!

But he knew that it was already too late to save them. The energy in their apparatuses was pitifully little, and the skills of those two cardless sect fighters were shockingly superb!

“Scatter! Each of you drop to swap cards!” Not able to think any further, he could only make that last-ditch effort!

The other five card artisans all looked at one another in silence, before bolting off in every direction in flight. Zola knew that it was his only chance. The cardless sects weren’t card artisans after all, and they had no way to fly. As long as they opened up some distance, they could buy some time.

Only if they bought some time might they still have a chance . . .

Without the least hesitation, Zola abandoned the two remaining card artisans in front of him. He had already discovered his adversary’s weak spot; that his strength was insufficient! It should be said that there weren’t many of them! Otherwise, there wouldn’t be only two cardless sect fighters on the ground.

Then his expression suddenly shifted, as he was horrified to find himself locked in!

Chen Mu and Sang Hanshui were flying fast in the clouds, and by that time they didn’t care about leaving a trail, since they had discovered that their adversary had already dispersed.

It has to be said that that was an issue that really gave Chen Mu a headache. So long as any one of them could swap out their power card, the situation would quickly become messed up. The backlash from grade-seven card artisans facing death wasn’t anything anyone would want to endure. If they only wanted to get their attention, that would be a very simple matter.

The decisiveness of the lead card artisan exceeded Chen Mu’s expectations, and he locked in that card artisan almost unthinkingly.

Damn! The adversary actually has some other power?

The impact of that determination on Zola’s confidence was huge, to the extent that he presented a hint of delay in his dodging.

A huge power hit him hard, and the sharp pain of his heart and lungs being torn apart spread to every nerve in his body. His powerful resistance made him want to scream, but he had already found that he couldn’t make a sound. He could feel his body losing control, and the sound of the wind whistling in his ears seemed far away in free-fall.

Dong!

A low-pitched sound as dull as thunder came to his ears then.

His consciousness slowly blurred without any fear. He just let loose as all of the fighting no longer had any relation to him. He could finally get a good rest.

A slight smile floated onto the corner of Zola’s mouth as he fell at high speed.

The other card artisans all turned pale with fright, several couldn’t help crying out voicelessly, “Captain!”

Just then, the weak energy fluctuations became suddenly strong! The looks on those card artisan’s faces kept changing, having thought that the enemy had been hiding someplace far away all along, since the energy fluctuations had been so weak. They hadn’t realized that the enemy was so close!

The Nine Wheeled Tractor!

Nine palm-sized wavy wheels were pasted on the surface of the forest, having suddenly arrived. The nine wavy wheels were like nine streams of light, whose speed was extremely fast, so that before they could scatter, the nine glowing beams showed up beside them. With lightning speed, they went from high speed to extreme stillness, the transformation making people stare with their mouths open. The nine wavy wheels formed into a fast circle and the light needle on each of the wavy wheels was spinning around according to some complex law.

Everyone only felt the perception in their bodies losing control, and they couldn’t help their alarm!

How could that be?

The remaining five card artisans all changed expressions, no longer able to change the precious energy cards in their apparatuses, as one by one they rushed to remove the energy cards!

Their perception was interfered with, doubtless by a powerful force, especially targeting card artisans! But although that kind of force was powerful, it was hard to grasp. If one were to say that it was a card that could control interference with perception, that would be still more rare than a illusion type of card. Mankind had a pitifully scant understanding of perception, never mind using foreign objects to interfere with it. From ancient times until then, any card master who could make such a card could be counted on one’s fingers. And the cards that had come down were pitifully few.

The remaining five card artisans all were all above the seventh grade for perception, and their ability to control perception was extremely strong. It had never been easy for them to be affected. But their perception and physical strength were all at their lowest level, on top of which they had encountered an ambush, and their captain had died. The impact on their fighting spirit was huge.

Otherwise, that trick that Xiaobo was showing off would have a very weak effect on them. But at that time, the effect as perfectly obvious.

And that time, dozens of red bombs came drilling out from the clouds like piranha smelling blood, coming toward them like crazy!

None of the card artisans who had been scared pale paid any attention to the several transparent air wavy blades which were attacking them from below!

Hong!

After the smoke was gone there was nothing where they had been.

The Federation Comprehensive Academy pursuit team had been completely wiped out!

Hu Hu Hu! Sang Hanshui’s breathing was coarse. He didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger by that time. The battle that day wasn’t long, but he had used all of his power for every wave of attack.

Chen Mu grabbed Sang Hanshui from behind, as he lightly fell.

Xiaobo, Wei-ah and Bu Mo were already on the ground waiting for them.

Xiaobo was looking at those lifeless corpses, still where they had been. After quite a few minutes, he finally averted his gaze with difficulty, to spit out a few obscure words, “Did we really win?”

“Of course!” Little Bu Mo found Xiaobo’s question very strange. He pointed at the corpses on the ground and said, “Look, haven’t they all died?”

“Died?” Xiaobo was mumbling dispiritedly, “Grade-seven card artisans, from the great Federation Comprehensive Academy? Are they that fragile? You say they’re dead and they just die!”

Little Bu Mo was still looking full of wonder, but he also found it rather strange that that day’s battle was a lot easier than that one evening. These people were truly fragile! Still not understanding what was going on, little Bu Mo nodded as though it were natural, “Indeed, they are very fragile!”

Sang Hanshui was probably the one who best understood Xiaobo. For ordinary card artisans, a grade-seven card artisan could almost be said to be something to hope for but never to achieve. Were any of those aces to fight them one on one, neither Sang Hanshui nor Xiaobo would be sure of victory.

But it was a team with just such shocking battle power that had actually undergone complete and instant military destruction. He still found that inconceivable as though he were dreaming.

Thinking of that, Xiaobo and Sang Hanshui couldn’t help but look at one another, and then their gazes helplessly moved again toward Chen Mu.

But that time, the two of their gazes were full of deep reverence!

Wei-ah was also watching Chen Mu, and there was a touch of light in his ever indifferent gaze!