the card apprentice
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Which batch was that? Was it the twelfth or thirteenth?
Chen Mu killed callously; beneath his feet lay corpses all over! Chen Mu was floating in the air; those from the cardless sects had no way to take him down. But what Chen Mu couldn’t understand was that his opponents seemed to have deep enmity with; as if they had vowed to kill him. Those cardless sects couldn’t fly, but no matter where he flew, they would follow Chen Mu closely below.
Chen Mu started to go soft on his enemies, but his opponents were infuriated and stuck to him tightly; they wouldn’t retreat even a little! Even Chen Mu, who was a callous killer, started to go soft on his enemies.
Those fellows had gone crazy!
Chen Mu couldn’t stay in the sky forever, in the ash stratum, only the big cracks were safe. Storms might strike any moment, and he had to land onto the big cracks then. Looking at those red-eyed members of the cardless sects below, he could imagine what kind of crazy attacks he would face once he landed!
Without the advantage of the distance between them, those endless numbers of cardless sects members would gnaw at him like locusts—leaving no remains. It seemed that he had stirred up a hornet’s nest, Chen Mu thought, but he wasn’t panicking. His nerves had long been trained to be as tough as iron in the Hundred Depths. Even if he had to engage in close combat, he was fearless.
There were many aces below, but fortunately, there wasn’t someone as scary as Baldie. If Baldie was there, Chen Mu would absolutely be dead. Baldie’s Airskill had attained a ghastly level; Chen Mu would not be on par with Baldie if they were to engage in close combat.
Among the masters Chen Mu had met, Baldie ranked at the top. Of course, that was directly related to his experience; the perfect combination of near-destructive, violent, and delicate skills in Baldie’s arsenal was amazing. However, his situation wasn’t that much better. No matter how strong he was, he was one man left on his own to defend himself. Once he lost his advantage by being in the air, it would only a matter of time before he was killed. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and Chen Mu was startled! A sandstorm was coming! According to his experience, a sandstorm would arrive in no more than two hours.
Two hours!
The bunch of crazy cardless sects below him also noticed the change in weather. They had their eyes opened wide with excitement; it looked like they were thrilled to have a chance to tear a chunk of meat out of Chen Mu.
“There seems to be something going on over there!” Xiaobo was still as cool as a cucumber. Suddenly, he was stunned by the scene, “Card artisans?”
In the distant skyline, only a small black spot can be seen, continuously releasing red light, and bombarding the enemy below from a higher position.
“Boss, we’re in luck!” his subordinate was whooping with delight and pointed to the infinite numbers of cardless sects in the distance. Not only was he without fear, but his voice contained a hint of excitement. Others rubbed their hands and wished they could jump on them immediately. Last week, they were unlucky and encountered fewer enemies; they lagged far behind the first group in terms of performance level.
“Bravo!””Awesome!””God! Who is that master?”
Xiaobo’s card artisans were dazzled; Eastern Wei had all the aces in the world, but they had never seen an attack of such horrible intensity unleashed by only one man’s ability!
Red beams filled the sky like rain!
They turned their heads and found that their Boss was staring at the man in the sky motionlessly; only his silver hair swayed in silence.
Sang Hanshui led the first team of Youth Guards. They were like lava flowing quietly along the crack. He was very cautious; the strength of the Youth Guards was still lacking when compared with the Hunters and card artisans from Wood Battalion. At the same time of letting them engage in real combat, he had to protect them as much as possible; those were his duties.
For that reason, the elite of the first team was thrown over for Jiang Liang’s training. Every procedure of their training was in strict accordance with the code of conduct, and they dared not loosen up a little.
They had engaged in various forms of reconnaissance, effectively hiding each other’s presence as they moved forward in their battle. The enemies along the way were often killed before they could respond. On their way, Sang Hanshui’s team ambushed five groups of enemies and wiped all of them out!
The whole team was functioning as a delicate instrument; closely connected and inseparable while moving forward with high accuracy. Suddenly, the team in front stopped moving forward. Without relaying any orders, everyone stopped in sync immediately and prepared for battle.
Sang Hanshui’s expression changed a little, and his triangular-shaped eyes glistened coldly.
In the distant horizon, there were countless numbers of dense light beams akin to rain. Those red beams were unusually striking when contrasted with the gray sky.
All the Youth Guards in the first team gasped at the scene and were flabbergasted! Their strict discipline had trained them to maintain their silence, but the expressions on their faces, their horrified eyes had exposed their bewilderment, and they were taken aback!
The beam was bright and dazzling red. Other than that, there weren’t any unique elements that drew attention. But the red light was in horribly dense and accompanied by the dreadful continuity, stability, and accuracy…
The first team of Youth Guards was generally silent, but at that moment they had become truly speechless! The heartbeats of many involuntarily skipped a beat in that second!
But those above-average Youth Guards were aware of the other issue. Their expressions took a turn for the worst; no card artisan in Eastern Wei had that kind of light beam card!
Did another card artisan enter the ash stratum?
That disastrous guess made them jumped out of their skin. They were about to inform their commander of their observations. When they turned around, however, they were stunned to discover their commander, who was always composed and ruthless, looking confused and overwhelmed!
The Guard Camp was advancing at breakneck speed. Compared to the Youth Guards, their formation was more at their discretion. But if observed carefully, their teamwork and cooperation were more flexible and diversified than the Youth Guards. At high speeds, the formation seemed to be scattered, but in fact, everyone’s position could at least be covered by three peers.
Lu Xiaoru had a long-faced. Flat Eyebrows had been away for too long and without any news; such a situation was rare, and she was worried. Not only was she, but everyone in the camp looked serious. Flat Eyebrows was ranked first in terms of strength in the whole Guard Camp; he was the expert of reconnaissance and concealment.
Could something have happened?
At that moment, the meter which Lu Xiaoru was holding lit up. Lu Xiaoru breathed a sigh of relief and activated “thousand-kilometer”. A screen popped up in front of her, and Flat Eyebrows appeared on the screen.
“What’s happening on your side?” She asked in a hurry, her voice full of concern. Others rushed over and surrounded her.
“Look.”
It seemed like he was influenced by Wei-ah; Flat Eyebrows who was usually quiet, now spoke even less. However, in his one-word answer, the rest could feel that his mood was fluctuating violently.
On the screen, a thin figure floated among countless straight red beams!
Lu Xiaoru could feel her heart stop beating for that instant. Behind her, Lucky Xi was transfixed. The ferocity on Crow Feather and Zhu Heng suddenly vanished from sight!
On the crack of a rocky top, Wei-ah gawked at the familiar figure in the sky. His deadpan face finally moved, and revealed a rarely seen rich and delicate change!
Little Bu Mo looked up at the sky silently; a lump formed in his throat, and his tears uncontrollably crashed down.
Behind them, Yangshan Fei’s mouth was wide open; he stared at the sky incredulously.
The dark gold mask reflected the red light of the sky. Sue stared at Chen Mu in the air and murmured, “He’s back!”
Bogner was drinking tea in the command room of the Big Crack Base. The situation wasn’t good recently, and he was under a lot of pressure. The opponent was the leader of a domain and could utilize all the power within his domain for battle. In contrast, although Eastern Wei had made considerable progress, its power was still a far cry from the leader of the domain. Nevertheless, they had the upper hand, and their situation hadn’t deteriorated to an irreparable extent.
Strange to say, he felt that the measures used by the opponent were familiar. He laughed and mocked at himself, “Am I already old?”
The series of measures employed by Tang Hanpei previously gave him a familiar feeling. The current battle and circumstance made him feel somewhat familiar too.
Am I too full of myself? He mocked himself again. Tang Hanpei, such a proud man, would never have any interaction with an old man like him. As for Mohadi Domain, that was another world in which he had no connections!
He sipped a mouthful of tea and waited for the news. Youth Guards and Guard Camp were deployed for a typical provocation from their enemy. At the base, the Hunters and Wood Battalion were reorganizing themselves. The red light on the table flickered. He was alerted and pressed the red light. Immediately a screen popped up in front of him. On the screen, there was only one person and countless red beams!
Bang! The teacup dropped to the floor and smashed into pieces.
The card artisan who was stationed outside the door, dashed in after he heard the noise. He saw the chief commander, Bogner, stand there like a statue while staring blankly at the screen.
The enemies relentlessly attacked; they weren’t afraid to die. They launched wave after wave of attacks! The most problematic issue for Chen Mu was the weapons used by those strength-based cardless sects. Their attacks were full of power, and the slightest brush against those weapons would cut bone and flesh.
As time went by, the sky turned darker and gloomier, which also meant that the sandstorm was closing in!
He was a little exhausted. His perception was depleting, and he had no choice but to slow down his attack. The enemy below him was thrilled. That was a sign that the enemy was exhausted and at his wits end! They were like bloodthirsty beasts who knew their prey was merely a step away from them. But they didn’t know it was also a clarion call!
A clarion call that many people had waited three years for!
“Forward!” After saying this single word, Wei-ah jumped down!
His figure blurred abruptly, and his speed increased to the extreme. There was no hesitation in Little Bu Mo as he followed Wei-ah tightly. There were tears on his face, but those two thick eyebrows were charged with a murderous aura!
Sue chuckled, “This is so exhilarating!”
“Wa-ha-ha!” Yangshan Fei leaned back and laughed. All of a sudden, his laughers stopped, and his command with a voice full of brutality, “Kill!”
Both of them ran fleet-footed at maximum speed—heading towards their enemy!
The man in the air slowed down. Xiaobo came to a realization, his pupils shrank, and his long silver hair unnaturally stopped moving in the wind. His impassive face disappeared without a trace, and a ferocious and hideous expression instantly lit up his face. He raised his hand and pointed ahead.
“Listen to my command carefully! The goal is right ahead!” His voice sounded as if it was from the abyss; filled with coldness, “Get rid of them! Fight to the end!”
The second team of card artisans felt a cold shiver run down their spine, but they were immediately excited. In their previous battles, their Boss had never given such a fierce and resolute order to attack!
“Get rid of them!” Thousands of them howled like wolves!
Without concealment, without any fear or hesitation, Xiaobo went to the front of the team like a proud silver wolf!
“Get rid of them!”
Xiaobo’s action stimulated and unleashed the anger in those card artisans; they were on the warpath. They couldn’t help but braced their arms and roared!
“Forward!”
Xiaobo hollered and charged forward.
“Forward! Forward! Forward!”
The card artisans could no longer curb their frenzied will to fight, and let their rage run rampant. They were like a pack of wolves, following the alpha, and bolted towards their enemy!
Sang Hanshui’s triangular-shaped eyes almost narrowed into slits. He noticed that the attack from the figure in the air slowed down, the corners of his eyes frowned, and his expression sank. His subordinates were surprised; it was rare for the commander to have such an expression.
“Everyone, the target is cardless sects!” Squeezing out wickedness mixed with unprecedented determination, Sang Hanshui commanded, “Fight to the death!”
“Fight to the death!” Everyone was surprised, but they roared in unison nonetheless!
The first group immediately changed into an attack formation. Instead of staying in the middle, as usual, Sang Hanshui moved slowly to the front position. He did not speak, but instead, lowered his head to check his meter. His silent action, however, brought a resolute will to fight, that determination spread among the troop, and youth card artisans were determined to battle!
No one spoke, but their determination was growing, almost spilling over! They held onto their positions like nails. Heads down, they seriously began to check their equipment. After completing their checks, the team was ready to kill!
Without a word to waste, Sang Hanshui pointed to the front and commanded, “Forward!”
The troop moved silently, but they were like a silent steel torrent, moving along the cracks to the enemy’s position!
When Lu Xiaoru regained her clarity, she could feel her heart at her mouth. She bit her lips tightly, while her vision was slightly blurred. She opened her eyes wide to stop her tears from falling.
“Kill!” She spat out one word. She was afraid that saying an extra word would cause her to tear up.
“Kill!” Lucky Xi pushed his glasses, and his lenses flickered with coldness.
“Kill! Kill! Kill!” Crow Feather and Zhu Heng thumped their chests. They were like two angry beasts, howling like crazy!
“Kill! Kill! Kill!” Everyone in the team was in a state of madness!
Suddenly an ear-piercing combat alarm sounded off at the Big Crack Base. The Big Crack Base was in a mess, and all card artisans left what they were doing and quickly returned to their combat positions in their teams.
Was the enemy going to attack? Every card artisans had an unsettled look on their faces.
“What’s the matter?” Rafael coincidentally bumped into Sanchez, who was in a hurry and asked.
Sanchez shook his head. “I don’t know, but Boss ordered the combat alarm. There must be a serious problem.” The ‘Boss’ he mentioned was Bogner.
By the time they arrived, crowds were already surging on the platform. They couldn’t help but gasped and stared at each other. Almost all the card artisans in the base were assembled.
Were they attacking in full strength? What was happening?
The situation was unexpectedly critical, and they were in a bundle of nerves. The Hunters and Wood Battalion assembled swiftly. Bogner appeared among the crowd. His neat combat attire startled everyone at once.
Surely it didn’t mean that Boss was going into battle himself? Was the situation so serious?
Without any mobilization or speech, Bogner gave a short command, “Set off!”
All card artisans flew up into the sky; they were densely packed in the air, like a gigantic dark cloud, the scene was spectacular.