Chapter 49
As it was the final day of the team competition, the stadium was packed to capacity, with even the aisles filled with people. Despite only two days of competition, the outstanding performances of the participants had already garnered them a significant number of fans. Today’s audience comprised not only students cheering for their respective schools but also a considerable number of fans who came just to support their favorite stars. The atmosphere was undoubtedly electrifying.
When the Imperial Navy made a simple appearance, the crowd couldn’t help but erupt into a frenzy of screams. Amidst the uproar, Cen Junfeng vaguely heard a few familiar names mixed in, causing him to sourly glance at the two people beside him.
“Wen Ye and Bing Yunlin, these seniors who have long been renowned, I can understand their popularity. But even Wen Xingchen and Lu Jingning, who are both newcomers this time, already have such a massive fan base. How can the gap be so significant?”
Once they reached the resting area, they began their final preparations. After going over the tactical arrangements with the starting members, Jihan lifted his head and looked at them deeply. “The last thing I want to say is, let’s give our all in today’s team competition!”
Everyone placed their palms together, raising their arms in unison, shouting, “Let’s go!”
As the match approached, led by the staff, all the starting members headed to the virtual cabins to prepare for the game. Outside the arena, the commentators passionately explained the specific rules of the team competition.
Following the format from previous years, all the players would start by refreshing their respective camp territories, each containing an energy crystal. In this competition, the players had two main objectives: to eliminate enemy team members and to destroy enemy bases. Every elimination granted one point, while destroying a base’s energy crystal awarded three points. If any camp’s energy crystal was destroyed, regardless of the number of remaining players, they would be considered eliminated.
Hence, how they strategically assigned players for defense and offense became crucial.
After explaining the rules, the commentators proceeded to introduce the starting lineups of each school one by one. Each introduction was met with enthusiastic cheers from the audience, showing just how deeply the representative players had captured their hearts.
When it was the turn for the Imperial Navy, the cheers reached an even more exaggerated level. The enthusiasm was so intense that it seemed as though the entire roof of the venue might be lifted off.
Even the commentator was momentarily stunned by the reaction and joked, “It seems that the popularity of the Imperial Navy is exceptionally high this year! If we were to vote for the most popular institution, they would undoubtedly be the favorites!”
As a substitute, Lu Jingning sat beside Wen Xingchen, and after hearing the commentator’s words, he suddenly asked, “Wen, why is our school so popular? Who are they here for?”
Wen Xingchen glanced at him and replied, “You?”
Lu Jingning shook his head and said, “How could that be!”
Wen Xingchen was surprised by his rare humility and continued, “I think at least 80% of our popularity is because of our team captain. With our captain’s godlike presence, who wouldn’t be charmed?”
Wen Xingchen: “…”
He pondered for a moment before responding, “Oh, they’re genuinely here to watch the game.”
It was then that Lu Jingning realized the team competition had officially begun. Simultaneously, all external sounds were entirely shut out, as the substitutes, who would need to rotate into the game later, were isolated in their space.
Although they couldn’t have an all-encompassing view like the audience outside, they could clearly see the specific situation of their teammates.
Lu Jingning looked at the screen and saw that Wen Ye and the others had already taken swift action since the start.
According to the pre-arranged plan, Bing Yunlin stayed at the campsite to control the equipment and handle defense, while the other four split into two pairs and acted separately.
As Lu Jingning followed the progress of the match and occasionally switched views to observe the situation of each squad, he felt bored due to the lack of any enemy encounters. Unable to contain himself, he asked Wen Xingchen, “Other schools are being cautious and still haven’t shown up yet. Do you think our captain and the others took the wrong route, and the other teams have already started fighting elsewhere?”
Wen Xingchen’s gaze remained fixed on the screen as he said, “No, big brother never makes such low-level mistakes.”
After a moment of silence, he added, “But something seems off.”
Lu Jingning, on a rational level, also believed that Wen Ye’s judgment was undoubtedly correct. Hearing Wen Xingchen’s remark, he furrowed his brow and asked, “When you say ‘something seems off,’ do you mean…?”
Before he could finish his sentence, the team led by Zhan She and Tao Yushi encountered their first wave of enemies. However, the number of enemies seemed unusually high.
Lu Jingning immediately understood what was going on and clenched his teeth, saying, “Damn, they’re forming alliances!”
Yes, it was indeed an alliance.
Before the Imperial Navy noticed, the audience with an all-seeing perspective had already clearly seen the entire process.
Silver Star Academy and Heavy Cloud Defense Academy didn’t immediately engage in battle when they encountered each other. Instead, they tacitly formed a unified front. Judging from the current scores, the Imperial Navy was undoubtedly leading by a wide margin. The team competition had always been the best battlefield for an all-out effort, and this year, the military academies with lower scores knew that their only chance to turn the tide was to completely annihilate the Imperial Navy before they earned more points.
Zhan She and Tao Yushi’s chosen route was not wrong, but unfortunately, luck was not on their side. They directly encountered the alliance teams of two other academies. Facing a total of four opponents, the situation seemed to be overwhelmingly unfavorable.
The commentator remarked, “It seems that the Imperial Navy showed too much strength in the previous two days of competition. Today’s team competition is bound to be incredibly challenging. This may be the first time in the recent exchange matches that we see alliance tactics, which highlights the terrifying strength of the Imperial Navy this year. But can they maintain their dominant position in the face of the combined forces of the other two academies? Let’s wait and see!”
Inside the substitute area, Lu Jingning couldn’t hear the passionate commentary from outside. He wore various expressions of disdain on his face while incessantly grumbling, “I guarantee this idea must have come from that guy Tang Jiaze again! Tsk, tsk, tsk. If you’re a man, you should confront the enemy head-on instead of relying on these crooked schemes!”
“These are just normal tactics,” Wen Xingchen calmly replied.
With the tense situation on the field, Wen Xingchen tidied his clothes, stood up from the chair, and as Lu Jingning continued to complain, he couldn’t help but reach out and pat him on the head, reminding, “Prepare to go in.”
Zhan She had already reported the specific situation to Wen Ye. While they had notified about the alliance of the two schools, they were also currently struggling against the four opponents, making it unlikely they could hold out for long.
However, it was precisely in such a perilous situation that the composure of the senior students shone through. Zhan She didn’t seem as weak as he appeared during the freshman challenge. Without the restrictions of using information pheromones and no time given to opponents to find loopholes, he displayed a steady and resourceful demeanor, maximizing the unique characteristics of the situation.
Though they were inevitably forced to retreat under the numerical disadvantage, the overly detailed handling of the situation made the members of Silver Star and Heavy Cloud feel a discordant discomfort.
Clearly, they should have fought with swift and decisive action, but somehow the entire process had become awkward and restrictive.
Watching the intense battle on the field, Lu Jingning saw that the two senior students were gradually overwhelmed. Feeling an eagerness to join the fray, he clenched his fist and a touch of madness crept into his expression. “Oh, they are sending Papa Lu in so quickly? Be careful not to regret it!”
On the field, Zhan She and Tao Yushi finally couldn’t withstand the encirclement and were killed in battle. However, they managed to take down one member of Heavy Cloud Defense Academy before falling, and both of them withdrew from the match. Thus, their brief practical experience in this year’s exchange matches came to an end.
At the same time, Lu Jingning and Wen Xingchen, as substitutes for the Imperial Navy, automatically entered the field according to the order.
As their figures appeared in the Imperial Navy’s camp, the organizers quickly cut the cameras to them.
With a giant close-up displayed on the big screen in the arena, the audience didn’t have time to sigh for the first casualty of the team competition before they suddenly erupted in excitement.
Cen Junfeng had just been lamenting his senior’s sacrifice when he was startled by this sudden burst of enthusiasm. It wasn’t until his ears were buzzing from the deafening noise that he realized the situation. He couldn’t help but glance at a certain person’s incredibly excited expression on the big screen and couldn’t resist muttering in a complex tone, “What else can they do? Just do it!”
At this moment, as Lu Jingning entered the competition map, he received Wen Ye’s instructions through team communication. Wen Ye told him to continue following the path Zhan She had taken before his defeat, which naturally made Lu Jingning deeply satisfied with this arrangement.
There was an idiom that went, “Blood debt must be repaid with blood,” and it was quite applicable now.
Based on the intelligence provided by Zhan She, Wen Ye had already deduced the strength of the opponents on that route. Although he had already had a conclusion in his mind, he still couldn’t help asking, “The remaining three are basically all A-class, and it’s very likely that others will show up too. Can you handle it?”
“Ah, of course, I guarantee the mission will be completed!” Lu Jingning replied confidently.
As he spoke, Lu Jingning armed himself comprehensively from the arsenal. He turned to the person beside him and called out, “Wen, let’s go!”
“Mhm,” Wen Xingchen replied lightly, adjusting the weapon he held in his hand. In the moment when Lu Jingning rushed out of the door, Wen Xingchen followed right behind him.
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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All he has to do is enter their midst, dominate them with pheromones, then allow Wen to shoot them in the back of the head like an executioner. Only A-ranked, do they have the power to resist?