Chapter 165: Team Zhang Jing-an!
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
On a small path within a dense patch of forest, a team of white-clad students were running for their lives. The words embroidered on their chests proved that this team was a 7th grade one.
"They're coming after us ..." One of the team members seemed to sense something. His expression fell, and he quickly told his teammates the bad news.
The team leader knew that continuing to run was useless. Originally, he was hoping that the other party was just passing by and would overlook their team, but now, from the looks of it, the opponent had clearly set their sights on them. He gritted his teeth and commanded, "You all run ahead!"
"Leader!" all the team members exclaimed. It was clear that the team leader was preparing to stay behind alone to hold off their pursuers.
"Don't worry, if I really cannot hold them off, I will surrender! But our whole team cannot fall here." The team leader's thoughts were clear. They were certainly no match for the team pursuing them, so even if the entire team stayed back to fight, the final outcome would still be their loss. And the final judgement on who wins and who loses a grand armed melee is greatly dependent on the final number of people remaining. From the start, the number of 7th graders who participated in this grand armed melee was already less than the other side, so they needed to save as many people as they could.
"Leader, you lead them away!" The team member right at the end suddenly stopped running, standing still right where he was. If they really had to leave someone behind to hold off the enemy, they might as well let him, the weakest member, do it. Even if he left the grand armed melee, it would not make a significant difference to the overall strength of his team.
"Xiaoming ..." The team members were clearly reluctant — he was a companion who had grown along with them all this time after all.
"Go! Do you all want to fold here?!" shouted the student called Xiaoming angrily.
The team leader saw that Xiaoming had been left far behind during this time; it was now too late even if they wanted to leave another person instead. At this moment, he could not afford any moment of hesitation. Thus, he merely slowed for a brief moment to say, "Let's go!" before resolutely running ahead.
The team members could only shove their reluctance away and gritted their teeth to chase after the team leader. Running with all their might, they soon disappeared from Xiaoming's sight.
A red-clad youth rushing swiftly after the team saw the white-clad Xiaoming standing in the middle of the road, and so halted.
His sudden stop made the other red-clad youths behind him stop as well. The number 10 was embroidered neatly on their red uniforms, showing them to be 10th grade students.
"Hoho, looks like they plan to sacrifice one to save the other team members. Leader, what should we do?" The youth who had stopped first asked his team leader standing behind him.
"Shi Qi, have you noted the details of those few people running away?" The team leader turned to ask the red-clad youth beside him tonelessly.
"No problem, Leader. As long as they stay within 2 kilometres of us, they won't get away," said Shi Qi proudly. His awakened talent was Lock-On — as long as he locked onto an opponent's details within his mind, he would be able to seek out the opponent within a 2 kilometre radius.
"How long before they escape from your search radius?" the team leader continued to ask.
"4 minutes!" replied Shi Qi confidently.
"Yuan Chen, I'll let you play for a bit with the person below!" said the team leader to the youth who had first stopped, "You only have 3 minutes and 30 seconds!"
Yuan Chen rubbed his palms together excitedly. "That's enough!" That said, he glided down from the tree to land squarely in front of the 7th grade white-clad youth Xiaoming standing in the middle of the road.
It was precisely Zhang Jing-an's team which had chased up to this 7th grade Class-B team.
When the white-clad Xiaoming saw just one red-clad youth appear before him, he gripped the bat in his hand nervously. His gaze flitted to the trees on both sides, trying to sense where the other members of the other's team were.
"Relax, I'm the only one fighting you!" Even as Yuan Chen's words reassured him, Xiaoming couldn't help but worry for his own teammates.
"How pitiful, actually being sold out by your teammates, being left behind to be a sacrificial offering!" Though Yuan Chen's lips kept yapping on about how pitiful Xiaoming was, the bat in his hands showed no mercy. He rushed forwards fiercely to attack the other with a savage blow.
The white-clad Xiaoming was very agile. Seeing the other attacking, he instantly leapt backwards, cleanly avoiding the opponent's strike.
"Not bad ... looks like you still want to struggle a bit before dying." Yuan Chen licked his lips in excitement. He raised his bat and continued to attack. This time, his attack speed increased considerably; the bat rained down on Xiaoming like the battering of the rains and winds in a thunderstorm. It looked like his first strike had just been a casual attack, not reflective of his real strength. Moreover, he did not stop needling his opponent verbally, "What a shame, you are just too weak. You can't even take a few of my attacks. You're destined to just suffer by my hands."
The white-clad Xiaoming ignored Yuan Chen's mockery. He merely gritted his teeth and did his best to resist, finally managing to defend against all of the opponent's attacks this round. But even so, Xiaoming could already feel his right hand, which was gripping the stick, going numb and senseless from the repeated battery of the other's power. He knew that if the other continued to attack this way, he would eventually be overcome ...
A loud thump! This was the sound of a bat striking flesh!
"Ah!" cried out Xiaoming in pain. His entire person was thrown backwards into the air by the force of this attack. His numbed right hand had finally been unable to react in time, failing to block a savage blow by the opponent.
Seeing this, Yuan Chen laughed gleefully; this was fully within his estimations. And so, showing no mercy, he once more sped up and got in close to the other, prepared to pummel the other soundly.
Right then, Shi Qi, who had been quietly watching the fight, suddenly let out a shocked cry.
Zhang Jing-an's brow twitched. "What happened? Shi Qi?"
"Nothing, Leader! It's just that those few little mice who had been running away are actually coming back!" Shi Qi announced his discovery to the others.
"Could it be that they are trying to catch us off guard? Or trying to launch a sneak attack? Aren't they looking down on us too much?" Another team member couldn't help but snicker.
"This is even better, saving us the effort of chasing them down." Zhang Jing-an felt that this was a good thing, so he shouted down to Yuan Chen below, "Yuan Chen, take your time and play. Those little mice are coming back, so you have plenty of time."
Zhang Jing-an's words caused the white-clad Xiaoming to panic. Mentally, he was angry and anxious — angry that his teammates had chosen to come back, and anxious that they would end up being completely wiped out here because of this.
Still, no matter how angry and anxious Xiaoming was, he could not suppress the surge of warmth that rose up within his heart. He knew that his teammates' choice was largely because they did not want to abandon him.
Hearing Zhang Jing-an's words, Yuan Chen's initially rapid attack pace slowed. As he swung the bat in his hands, he resumed mocking the white-clad Xiaoming, "Ho, looks like, those few teammates of yours think pretty highly of you, actually choosing to turn back to rescue you ... however, this decision is really too stupid. Your team really sucks. Who's your team leader? Wishy-washy and indecisive, and also having no self-awareness ... under his lead, you all will definitely never become a strong team and become strong individually. Like now, all you all can be is our stepping stones!"
"Whether our team sucks or not, I do not know. What I do know is that my team is a little better than your team — at least we are more humane than you all are," responded Xiaoming coolly. It's fine if they wanted to mock him, but he would not allow them to scorn his team leader and his companions.
"F*ck you!" Xiaoming's words thoroughly enraged Yuan Chen. Yuan Chen's attack speed rose once again, his rubber bat striking the other's body ceaselessly without mercy, once again throwing the other backwards into the air. These consecutive heavy blows dealt extremely heavy internal damage to Xiaoming, who could not help but throw up blood.
Not too far away, on the branch of a large tree, Ling Lan was closely watching the situation. An ice bead silently appeared in her palm. The other benefits of Ice Affinity were not obvious, but when she was trying to launch a stealth attack, she did not have to waste time and effort to find a hidden weapon — she just needed to focus and she would have a weapon.
Ling Lan aimed at a particular direction where a figure was laying ... a nimble flick of her finger, and the ice bead flew ...
"Ouch!" On one tree, a white-clad youth who had been lying down among the branches secretly watching the show suddenly felt a force push him lightly from behind. This push was not strong enough to hurt him, but it made him lose his balance to fall down from the branches.
He turned back to look for the source of the push, but saw no one. There seemed to be a glimmer in the air, but when he narrowed his gaze to look closer, it had disappeared, as if it had just been in his imagination.
"Ah ah ah ... help!" The white-clad youth did not find the culprit and so could only turn back around and struggle desperately in the air. But in the end, he still ended up crashing spread-eagled onto the ground.
This unexpected scene gave Zhang Jing-an and company a fright. About to launch another attack, Yuan Chen stopped, turning his head to look at this unexpected guest who had disturbed his fight.
In contrast to the other's surprise, Zhang Jing-an's face showed a trace of seriousness. Being able to sneak up on them without being noticed, this white-clad youth was obviously not a simple character. He may very well have some unique hidden ability. Zhang Jing-an immediately discarded the possibility that the other was stronger than him; he did not think anyone from Class-B could be that strong.
The white-clad youth pushed himself up from the ground with difficulty, moaning all the way. His exaggerated manner made everyone stare at him curiously.
Meanwhile, when Xiaoming saw the face of the white-clad youth, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Xie Yi, why are you here?"
"So it's a 7th grade junior! Come to save your fellow classmate? What admirable fellowship." When Yuan Chen saw the number embroidered on the other's chest, he tapped his bat lightly against his left arm, and spoke up with a half-smile.
Xie Yi patted the dust off his clothes and said with an expression of consternation, "You think too highly of me. Facing a team of the top 10th graders, if I have this notion, then I'm definitely a moron. Honestly, I just didn't hold onto that tree securely enough and fell down by accident. If possible, can you all just pretend you didn't see me ..."
"Do you think, that is possible?" asked Yuan Chen darkly.
Xie Yi's face fell instantly, and he pouted and started muttering to himself, "I just knew it. Not hugging onto the tree properly would end up like this ... Ahem, I'm really too pitiful. Just trying to get a good show and being pulled in like this ... How about you seniors show some mercy and we just exchange a move for show and call it a day?"
Speaking up at the end, Xie Yi's eyes were sparkling brightly, his expression clearly broadcasting the fact that he just wanted to have a good discussion with the 10th grade seniors. Everyone sweatdropped. Could it be that this fellow was truly a moron with a lacking brain?