Battle Frenzy

Now, the selection advantage was controlled by Tianjing! Vladimir no longer had the say on whether a duel between captains would happen or not. Tianjing now held an absolute control over the match! Wang Zhong could either match up against Vladimir, and remove Grozny’s strongest man from the group battle equation, or use a substitute to waste Vladimir’s fight in order to clinch an easy victory in the 5th duel, bringing this match into the group battle phase.

It could be said that everything about this match was currently under Tianjing’s control. The massive mountain of pressure bearing down on the Tianjing fans after Grai’s loss in the vanguard duel had now disappeared without a trace!

The berserk stadium and the berserk fans instantly caused the surrounding atmosphere to skyrocket to a new high! However, under this berserk exterior, eyes brimming with radiance started to appear within the audience!

Compared to the berserk cheering the layman in the audience were displaying for their idols, the participants of this CHF were clearly more interested in the details that had happened in the earlier duel.

“Tianjing already possesses a bit of the splendour a genuine S+ powerhouse squadron should have.”

“Their growth rate is truly mind-blowing! Both Barran and this Scarlet, their level was at most an A- rank at the start of the CHF! Now, they really are capable of holding their own against genuine S rankers!”

“They aren’t overly powerful. However, they possess some kind of indescribable spirit to them!”

“I feel that De Gea was too impulsive with his attack. If he had stabilised his defences and endured for a moment longer, he might have been able to drag Scarlet into a pit. After all, Scarlet with her never-ending barrage of shots would consume energy more quickly than him. Furthermore, her Soul Power reserves definitely cannot compare to De Gea.”

“Ah. One would need to make preparations for being countered when intending to kill. If not from him rushing to end this fight, he would not become distracted into attacking, thereby leaving a gap in his defence. Scarlet would also not have had the opportunity to end the match with that decisive finisher.”

“You can’t blame De Gea for that. The most crucial factor is that Scarlet really knows how to put up an act. That was definitely an Oscar-level performance!” Napier Mo clicked his tongue in admiration. Being somewhat an actor himself, he was also tricked by Scarlet’s performance! “Being able to act as though she was desperate while holding such a powerful move in her hands. I feel that De Gea was being led around like a donkey with a carrot. If not, De Gea would not have chosen to attack.”

“Truthfully speaking, the crucial point was that he had underestimated his opponent; he also lacks foresight.” Mo Ling replied while shaking his head. “He had overly hesitated when Scarlet was setting up her moves. He did not even prevent her from moving in circles around him. After seeing her movements on the ice, he had assumed that it was the entirety of Scarlet’s move. That made him feel relaxed, so much so that he did not maintain any basic thoughts of self-preservation and safety. Deep down within his heart, he still looks down on Scarlet.”

In reality, Mo Ling’s words had really struck home. It was all due to De Gea looking down on Scarlet. He believed that his opponent could only pull out weird moves in an attempt to win. After doing so, she would be no different from a waste.

Carolyn, Divian and the others from the various aristocratic families were now focusing their attention to Scarlet’s shoes. Perhaps it was due to Scarlet being a girl, all of them didn’t care about the spectacular fashion with which she had won this duel. On the contrary, they were much more interested in the pair of runic shoes she was wearing. That was something that could create an entirely new industry! However, now, this had been dominated by Copperfield.

In the viewing gallery, the old Potter and old Greene chatting merrily. Old Greene felt extremely content with his life. Tianjing had managed to pull off a major upset, turning from a side character into the overlord of the eastern regions! Now they were more than qualified to be rivals of Copperfield. Coupled with the various forms of support and benefits gained from obtaining their semifinalist placings in this CHF, Tianjing’s return to her former glory was just around the corner! Furthermore, their connections with old Potter represented Copperfield’s willingness to establish deeper relationships and cooperation with Tianjing!

The higher-ups of the various aristocratic families felt envy and jealousy surge through their hearts. Ordinary engraved runes on weapons would only allow for an increased rate of Soul Power transmission, or allow the transmission of certain kinds of special abilities via the strength of dimensional crystals. However, this pair of runic shoes were made from genuine living runes, and possessed special capabilities! This short ranged instantaneous movement was extremely significant! With this added capability, it could save countless lives on the battlefield! If it was capable of being mass-produced, it would truly become a matter that would revolutionise the world!

Everyone within the Federation knew that new runic system created by the old Potter that had taken the Institute of Sciences by storm was said to be inspired by Wang Zhong! Divian was now feeling extremely regretful in her heart. Such a precious opportunity to be involved in the development of a new revolutionary industry had appeared before her and Carolyn. In fact, if they had just treasured this opportunity slightly and be more tactful with how they handled it, the outcome may have been entirely different!

Now… with Carolyn’s personality, she would not be too willing to drop her stance, while Wang Zhong was a decisive man and would not drag around with his feelings. Sigh.

The berserk roars and cheers for Scarlet’s victory started to gradually subside. This was not due to her not being worthy of length applause, but due to the fact that the match had yet to end. People were now paying more attention to the next duel, which had now become the deciding duel for this match!

Who would be sent up for the 4th duel?

With the selection advantage in their hands, Tianjing clearly possessed the momentum going into the 4th duel. They could attack or choose to retreat. By keeping their trump card on their bench, all of the pressure had been transferred over to the Vasilyevich side, who seemed as if they didn’t have a great choice of selections.

However, there was not much hesitation or confusion present in Vasilyevich’s preparatory area, as Vladimir proceeded to stand up, a calm expression ever so present on his face. Despite De Gea making extremely obvious mistakes in his duel against Scarlet, this was not the time to start pointing fingers. Due to Scarlet not being used to her sudden, instantaneous high-speed movements, the attacks launched against De Gea weren’t that strong, and he did not sustain any serious injuries as a result. Nevertheless, the blow to his heart was definitely heavy, as he had scored an absolute zero in his latest performance.

Before the start of this match, many people seemed to have the wrong idea, that Vladimir would avoid a match between him and Wang Zhong. Indeed, this would be an important factor when the entire match is taken into consideration. However, there was no need for him to do so.

The Grozny fans in the northern viewing gallery immediately started to cheer and roar upon seeing Vladimir stand up. Vladimir, the successor of the Vasilyevich Family, was a god-like existence to every single person from the northern regions ever since his birth. This not only applied to his power of governance, but also at a spiritual level! The past few hundred years of dominance as well as various kinds of miracles and legends created by the Vasilyevich Family surrounded him!

Now, Vasilyevich had made their choice. What about Tianjing?

The hearts of countless Tianjing fans started to knot up as they looked over towards the Tianjing preparatory area with anticipation and nervousness.

Naturally, everyone was hoping for a showdown where All Mouthy King, with his power that placed him above everyone else, triumphed over the “god”, Vladimir. However, the ice prince, with his god-like Ice attribute special ability, appeared to be even stronger than Gui Hao. Against him, All Mouthy King’s victory was not guaranteed. What if he lost? That would result in Tianjing being eliminated before the start of the group battle phase!

Under everyone’s gaze, Wang Zhong proceeded to stand up.

“It’s captain Wang Zhong!” Ruo Zhi shouted out. “Both sides have made their selections! There’s no escape! It’s captain VS captain, trump card VS trump card!”

“Isn’t that a little too risky? From a logical standpoint, it’s best for captain Wang Zhong to avoid this duel and use a substitute to remove Vladimir from the equation. With his strength, he will definitely be able to finish off Vasilyevich’s last mainstay and push this match into the group battle phase. That’s the most stable tactic to employ.” Chen Yu’er felt slightly regretful. “In any case, this match will go into the group battle phase.”

“You’re wrong on that point, little Yu’er.” replied Ruo Zhi with a hearty chuckle. “Entering the group battle like that would be a big disadvantage for Tianjing.”

“Oh?”

“Think about it. Grai has sustained serious injuries, and therefore is extremely unlikely to be able to participate in the group battle. If captain Wang Zhong makes the so-called easy decision of using a substitute to enter the group battle, he will definitely have to deal with Vladimir, Noriba and Pomo. With these 3 pillars present in the group battle, and all of them possessing ice attribute special abilities, do you believe that Wang Zhong can deal with them?”

Chen Yu’er instantly gawked upon hearing this. Due to being a Tianjing fan and being overly anxious for them, she had only hoped for Tianjing to enter the group battle phase.

“Victory isn’t Wang Zhong’s only goal in this duel…” Ruo Zhi muttered in his heart. However, the other goal was really, really too hard to accomplish…

“This has escalated way past a showdown between 2 captains! This duel might very well decide the final victor for this match! This is the use of trump cards! The might and prestige of trump cards! For matches of this level, victory is often decided by individual strength.”

The stadium and Skylink were instantly set ablaze the instant Wang Zhong stepped onto the stage.

Vladimir VS Wang Zhong! It had finally come down to the most exciting matchup in this CHF! The showdown between the kings!

On one side, there was the fighting genius whose fame and reputation had skyrocketed since his appearance, the king of OP! On the other side, there was the ice prince hailing from one of the most powerful aristocratic families in the Federation, the king of special abilities!

How would Vladimir, the person judged to have the strongest special ability among the younger generation, act out his role as the king of ice? How would Wang Zhong, with his combat techniques and inconceivable strength, deal with him?

The viewership numbers on Skylink had already broken the all-time record, now surpassing the 260 million mark! This was most like the highest number of people actively present in Skylink! After all, despite being actively publicised and pushed to the masses by the Federation, not every person out there had a set of their own.

Countless people waited anxiously in anticipation for the hottest duel in this CHF!

Everyone had predicted Vasilyevich to employ the safest strategy to obtain victory, in order to preserve their strength to deal with Mo Wen. Clearly, they had countered Tianjing extremely well in the first 2 duels by removing 2 of the 3 most dangerous threats,Grai and Barran, from the equation. However, Scarlet’s miraculous ice waltz and god-like runic shoes had saved Tianjing! Finally, Vasilyevich was still forced to rely on their captain to deal with the most crucial duel for this match.

Enemies would always meet face to face! Finally, the most anticipated duel was about to begin!

Vladimir was unarmed as he walked up the stage, appearing rather carefree, just like during the duel against Laura.

Many people were hoping for Wang Zhong to unleash his cross wheels once again, as there were quite a few legends circulating out there that his Laforgue Infinite Slash Cross Wheels were a pair of genuine Divine Weapon from the dark era! Many of the spectators had not seen them in action before, and were really hoping to get a closer look at them. People would often have various kinds of fantasies when it came to Divine Weapons. Who knew if it could deal with special abilities? It might even be able to slice one of the Ice Prince’s signature moves, his divinized ice walls!

However, it was a pity that those hopes were quickly dashed!

Wang Zhong was also unarmed.

Nevertheless, this was not a show of arrogance. Frankly speaking, the cross wheels’ were more advantageous during a group battle. Without a doubt, a Divine Weapon would lower one’s energy consumption when faced with multiple opponents, and might even allow one to clinch victory in an easier fashion. However, a solo duel was more of a test of one’s strength, intellect and willpower.

To Wang Zhong and Mo Wen, an opponent like Vladimir was an incomparably valuable aid on their path towards ultimate strength. If they were able to use a more all-rounded tactic to deal with Vladimir, they would be able to obtain much better comprehension when they ignite their Heroic Souls. This was what Mo Wen, or perhaps, every single Casted Soul Stage soldier, was aiming for!

Of course, victory was important. However, their number one goal was still on the process.

Without talking about Wang Zhong’s cross wheels, with the might of the Vasilyevich Family behind him, how would it possible for Vladimir to not have any Divine Weapons? Could it be that he was not suitable with any of them?

Of course, Vladimir could freely choose any of the drugs or dimensional crystals that would aid in the development of special abilities. In fact, it was not difficult for him to choose a Divine Weapon, like the gloves Laura had used.

However, those things were more harmful than beneficial for Vladimir. The Casted Soul Stage was the most important developmental stage for one’s Soul. If one constantly relied on ergogenic or external aid when met with a challenge, it would pose more harm to their progress. The heaven-gifted sons and daughters had chosen to remain in the Casted Soul Stage to allow further development of their comprehension, which would result in them being able to tread a longer path in the future. Other than some unique talents, like Bobo’s naturally high bond with the legacy Divine Weapon of his Torres weapon, or to develop a Divine Weapon into a Soul Weapon, it would not be of much aid in combat against anyone of their realm.

This was the rule that both sides followed. Vladimir would not use any external aids, while Wang Zhong would not use his cross wheels.

Naturally, it could also be said that both sides were absolutely confident of their own strengths. At the same time, both of them wanted to be able to unleash themselves against an opponent that was sufficient to pose a threat to themselves!

These thoughts could be seen in their unarmed stances as well as their attitudes towards this duel.

As both men took their places on the stage, there was no presence of any tension or anxiety in the atmosphere. Both of them wore faint smiles on their faces as they continued to size each other up, seemingly trying to find any weaknesses hidden beneath each other’s faces.

The Ice Prince continued to wear the suave and handsome look that he always wore. Despite the skyrocketing fame Grai has gotten over the course of this CHF, Vladimir appeared not one bit inferior to him in appearance. In fact, he radiated the wilderness that was more in tune to men hailing from the northern regions, causing people to feel a rush of excitement upon seeing him. If both of them were to appear together on stage, their fans would most likely freeze up as they got overwhelmed by their emotions. However, if the Ice Prince was the only one on stage, the Tianjing fans present would most likely quickly change to “betray” their squadron. Now, there was actually some fans in the Tianjing fan viewing galleries that were shouting out stuff like “The Ice Prince’s so handsome!” or “Go go, our Ice Prince!”. Although they didn’t number in the many, they were immediately met with angry glares from a large number of males.

It had to be said that one’s strength would need to a suitable appearance to be paired up with. Naturally, the betrayal from those small number of fans were clearly not enough to change the berserk rhythm set by the brother King fans.

A collective of shouts, chants and roars suppressed all other voices in and other of the stadium, as well as the Skylink.

“No one on earth can stop brother King fans from going crazy!”

“Our brother King’s charm is invincible! So what about the Ice Prince! Our brother King is the real man!”

“How can those blind women know anything about how standards! Exactly which side are you standing on?!”

“All hail All Mouthy King!”

The countless number of Tianjing fans, especially the fans of brother King, were shouting at the top of their lungs, their ear-deafening voices filling up the entire heavens!

Countless people have placed their heated gazes and attention towards a single person! What kind of feeling was Wang Zhong feeling right now?

Perhaps it was hard for those in the audience to understand. Only those who had stood at the apex of the Federation would know how it feels!

Honour, strength, goals and future!

All Mouthy King, Wang Zhong! A figure that had developed from a star in the OP, into a legend that was known throughout the Federation!

Without a doubt, he had already become a legend. He had created miracles that no commoner had ever done in the history of the Federation! Now, would this legend continue, or would it be snuffed out?