Chapter 322: Reaching the Peak
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
KKK was speechless; the second blow had even dulled the anger after the defeat of the first round. His experience had told him that Wang Tong was intentionally humiliating him, which only added more salt to the wound.
The very last few moments of the battle were just torture. Wang Tong's message was clear: "You should have never attended the tournament."
KKK's face was pale and expressionless like a piece of bleached parchment. His thoughts became a blur, and the only thing he felt was the belligerence in his opponent's attack. Although Wang Tong's strategy seemed incoherent, KKK could never find an efficient way of overcoming it.
The sudden loss stupefied KKK, and his command halted as he had forgotten that he was still in the match.
Wang Tong had won the second round without any suspense. Shocked by the difference in the two player's performance, many audiences were disappointed by KKK.
KKK called a timeout. He needed to calm himself before he could carry on with the third round. Seeing their player had lost two games in a row, the Ivantian audiences pulled taut faces and kept silent.
Students in Ayrlarng and many other A class academies cheered and shouted at the top of their lungs, celebrating the defeat of the despicable enemy. They hoped that Wang Tong would make the Ivantian repent what he had done, and let him carry the guilt for the rest of his life.
A few instructors from the Luster Academy had entered the resting room, trying to offer their counsels and encouragement to KKK, who was on the brink of breakdown. Despite their comforting words, the instructors too knew that KKK's mental state had been shaken beyond immediate help. The next fight would not only become KKK's last fight, but it would also be torture for him.
However miserable the outlook of the next fight might be, KKK had to carry one. But, he had failed to muster the courage to step onto the stage again.
"Mister...I...I paid people to beat Karl up. I confess. Don't let me go on to the stage again, please!" KKK said with a pale face, eyes holding tears. He had a suspicion that he would be humiliated even more at the last round.
The teachers looked at each other and were not sure what to make of KKK's confession. They eventually decided that KKK should keep the revelation to himself for now and finish the match for the sake of the honor of their academy.
Failing to withdraw from the game, KKK started back to the stage unwillingly.
The Ivantians cheered at KKK's return. They believed that this round would be an excellent opportunity for KKK to retaliate, since Wang Tong ought to have lowered his guard after winning two rounds in a row.
The third round began.
Wang Tong no longer cared about the kind of opening strategy he was to use, since his goal on this stage was not to win as quickly as possible, but to embarrass KKK for spoiling his fight with Karl.
Wang Tong used his newly invented Art of Infinity, and started gathering force for attack without building any defense. Thereby, he was able to expand quickly and also kept the pressure on his opponent through constant harassment. When the game progressed to the mid-game, KKK was still hanging in there with two bases, not knowing that Wang Tong had already built ten. Thinking that he still had a chance, KKK tried his best to micro the unit production and build up the defense. Bead sized sweat appeared on KKK's forehead. Meanwhile, outside the simulation room, many Ivantians had already started to leave the arena.
After enjoying a period of quietness without Wang Tong's harassment, unit production in KKK's two bases was burgeoning. Looking at the large group of force he had gathered, KKK seemed to have found a sliver of hope.
KKK had utterly lost track of time as he had failed to realize that it was already the late game, and his force was pathetic from a late game standard.
As soon as KKK's force that was equipped with the most rudimentary weapon and armor stepped off the base, they were greeted with a modern armada.
KKK had finally realized that he had chosen the wrong opponent, but it was too late.
Three to zero, Wang Tong won the first place in the fleet battle category of the Pan solar system tournament.
As soon as KKK walked out of the simulation room, a few investigators took him away.
This final fight had the most significant disparity between player's power, and its significance paled under comparison with the semi-final between Wang Tong and Flash.
The earthlings in the arena cheered loudly for Wang Tong's victory. This year's tournament had turned the new page in the history of earthling's fleet combat. From then on, the earthlings had gained the confidence to compete with players from other factions.
‘We are the champions, my friends,’
‘And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end.’
Karl rushed into the resting room; he was angry at the revelation that KKK instigated the bar brawl. Although he kept on telling people that he would not want to fight Wang Tong, it had always been his dream to compete against his idol on the stage.
The moment KKK saw the investigators, he knew that his fleet combat career was done for.
Wang Tong looked over Karl's shoulder and saw the face he had been dreaming every night. Unable hold back his blissful excitement, Wang Tong hugged Ma Xiaoru and kissed her lips.
Both of them had waited this moment so long that it sometimes seemed like a lifetime, and the kiss was like a reincarnation of their love in their next life.
Zhou Sisi looked at two with blessings and jealousy. She bitterly conceded that it was time for the two to reunite finally.
The scene staggered Li Ruoer, and after she gathered herself and started watching the two lovers quietly, the scene seemed to breathe a new air into her sea of consciousness, like the warm spring breeze that woke up the landscape.
She was astonished to find out that her cultivation had just breached though another bottleneck.
An unnamed feeling towards Wang Tong had been festering inside of Li Ruoer, and it had deeply bothered her. Although she had contained the feeling using her enchantress's power, the two lovers’ blissful moment had lent the contained emotions more power, as it rushed back into Li Ruoer's mind with new found strength.
The thought came to her like a blow to her mind: She was in love, and sadly, her lover was with someone else.
It was that drastic flux of emotion that had helped her breach the cultivation bottleneck. However, Li Ruoer found it hard to be happy about her advancement in cultivation.
At the awards ceremony, even the Ivantians joined in the cheers of the earthlings. Perhaps it was their way of redeeming themselves after the shameful conduct of KKK.
The committee had decided to raise the amount of award for Karl not only as compensation, but also a recognition for his contribution to the fleet combat community.
As one of the brightest stars on the stage, Karl was finally regarded as a genius.
At this stage, Wang Tong had taken another significant step in his life. He was determined that from then on, he should protect his loved one and her honor like a real man, and strive to achieve higher goals.
A tide of cheers and shouts and flowers rose from the arena, turning it into a sea of joyful celebration.
After the fight, Wang Tong, Karl, and Flash were dubbed as the "Magnificent Three" of the Earth Faction. This would mark the beginning of their glorious path.
After the ceremony, many people joined the after-party. Although Ma Xiaoru wished that she could spend more time with Wang Tong alone, her butler had followed her everywhere like her father had ordered him to.
Samantha had hosted a party for the boys and invited players from other academies. Although these students were opponents on the stage, they had become close friends when they were not in a competition. The Team Earth had a smashing success at this year's tournament, as the results had exceeded everyone's expectation.
As the leading contributor to the phenomenal success, Ayrlarng was the most significant winner of all earth academies, and everyone agreed that the glorious Ayrlarng was back.
Meanwhile, people also found that Ayrlarng's success was merely a reflection of the ability of its beautiful and wise Principal Samantha.
As the time drew near for the intake of new students, Ayrlarng had become the third most sought after academies, closely following Capth and Yalen.
Many students applied at Ayrlarng, not only because of its fame, but also because of Samantha.
Sometimes, when Samantha was alone in her room, she thought about the time she had spent with Wang Tong, and knew that they could have been together if it weren't because of the age gap and her plan for her future. She had told herself many times that Ma Xiaoru was a better girlfriend than herself, but her heart kept on telling her otherwise.
Nonetheless, she was content with the current state, in which she still maintained a friendship with both Wang Tong and Ma Xiaoru while making significant progress in her career.
Although Wang Tong had won the first place in the Fleet combat, his challenge had just started, as he was about to face the METAL combat tournament very soon.
Fleet Combat was a relatively expensive sport, and therefore, only a few students from well-off parts of the human world was able to compete in the tournaments. On the other hand, METAL combat was much cheaper to train, and therefore, there had been many dark horses that hailed from some unknown parts of the world in the previous tournaments. In other words, the large pool of contestants had added more wild cards for already established fighters to deal with.