The Card Apprentice

Bogner suppressed his impulse of joining Chen Mu and his team. Instead, he led his troops and quietly hid behind the enemy’s flank.

It had to be said that Bogner’s tactical attainment was a few ranks higher than the others’. When he led his troops quietly to the enemy’s flanks, the enemy hadn’t detected them at all. Instead of launching their attacks immediately, he waited patiently for the best opportunity.

Although his opponent’s front line was defeated, it didn’t hurt their main forces; he was clear of that when he saw more of them stood in combat readiness in their base. If he started the attack, the enemy might have some initial stage of chaos, but the battle might still end up in a stalemate; it would be the worst scenario for him.

He felt apprehensive, but he kept his emotions hidden. He raised his head and looked at the distant sky. The dusk sky was gradually darkening, and a sandstorm overshadowing the sky was in sight. Time was running out…

If there was a chance, he would rather wait till the next time. In today’s battle, his opponent had many casualties. The battle was short, but it made him mindful of his previous oversight. His opponent was an expert in attacking and killing with smaller teams, while large-scale combat requiring formation was their weakness. His previous mistake was due to his unfamiliarity with Mohadi Domain and lack of information. But the current battle made him recognize this oversight, and he figured out a lot.

For a commander of his rank, just one weakness of his opponent was enough for him to find a road to victory. He was confident enough to defeat the cardless sects from Mohadi Domain. Even if he couldn’t win it all in that battle, there was no regret, because Chen Mu was back!

It was good to be back!

That was what he had in mind for most of the time. Was it because of his age? Bogner sometimes thought so.

That year, Chen Mu chose to save Bogner and was blown away by the storm; Bogner felt responsible for his disappearance. All along, he stubbornly insisted that his boss would return, even when his rationality knew the possibility was almost zero. It was his stubbornness that he refused to return to Heavenly Federation and chose to stay put in the Big Crack Base, which was tough and demanding to reside.

Unexpectedly, his boss returned! His heart filled with joy, and along with that, his murderous aura faded a lot.

The return of their boss was crucial to them. They got together because of their boss and built their growth hand-in-hand. Except for their boss, no one had enough prestige to lead everybody. In recent years, the joint resolution adopted by Eastern Wei hadn’t caused any major problems but was, in fact, their last feasible move. However, as they aged, especially Xi Ping and him, there was a great possibility that the situation would get out of control. But their boss had returned!

The worries that had been pressuring him finally disappeared, even his steps seemed lighter; he felt more light-hearted. When he saw his boss was in great danger, his first reaction was anger, but as a top commander, he quickly calmed down. Other than Wei-ah, he spent the longest time with his boss, and he understood his boss much more in-depth than others.

Moreover, upon knowing how various units operated in the opponent’s base, he wasn’t worried at all. Even if there were only four of them, including Wei-ah, his boss would never be in a life-threatening situation. In addition, they had the Youth Guards led by Sang Hanshui and Xiaobo, and the Guard Camp led by Lu Xiaoru and Flat Eyebrows!

Quick at seizing opportunity was one of the essential qualities a commander should possess. What’s more, Bogner? His current ambush position had established enough advantages. Even if they couldn’t defeat the enemy in the ongoing battle, they could still launch an attack to increase their casualty significantly. In other words, he was in an invincible position.

At last, Chen Mu and his team who were chasing the defeated soldiers finally appeared in their enemy’s sight. Chen Mu had a broader view in the sky; he first discovered Bogner, who was quietly ambushing. In his heart, he was in awe of Bogner’s ability, and he immediately understood his role in the battle.

Behind him, Sang Hanshui, Xiaobo and the rest were extremely excited. They not only saw the return of their boss but also fought side by side with him. The happiness they felt was indescribable! The morale of the card artisans who just earned their new victory was strong. The card artisans’ excitement upon seeing Chen Mu allowed the newly joined card artisans to quickly understand who the mysterious and powerful man was!

They had never seen Chen Mu before. But in those good old days, he was under the spotlight, the phrase “The White Commander, have you heard of him,” his famous and infamous battles, and the legend of that unknown man; how could anyone who joined Eastern Wei not know?

There were rumors of Chen Mu’s disappearance in Eastern Wei and the outside world. All along, that was the biggest factor affecting people’s confidence in Eastern Wei. Everyone knew that the man, The White Commander, was the real leader of Eastern Wei.

But who would have thought that man, The White Commander, had returned!

Not only did he return, but he also led them in their battles! Glancing at the enemy who was waiting for him, he remained unmoved.

King slowly stepped out of the tent and saw his opponents in the sky. He was unhappy, “We have so many soldiers out there, and that small group of enemies defeated them? How could we have been defeated so overwhelmingly?”

The subordinates surrounding King was ashamed. Indeed, there were less than 3,000 enemies in the sky; it was indeed a smaller group.

“Maybe they have more masters.” A tribal leader mumbled, but his voice was getting softer.

“Humph!” Under the golden mask came a sneer, “Where are the elite warriors? All I see is a disorderly crowd! Are these descendants of famous heroes from various tribes? Hey, if their ancestors in heaven saw their descendants acting like a bunch of cowards, I wonder how would they feel?”

All the tribal chiefs around were ashamed. There were nine tribes in total, and the largest tribe had more than 3,000 soldiers. They were beaten down by less than 3,000 people; it was an embarrassing situation. King was right behind them, and all the soldiers in the front line tried to keep their spirits up.

The captain in the forefront estimated the distance between the two sides, suddenly he shouted, “Enemy in the sky, wide-winged javelin! Fire!”

Wide-winged javelin was a javelin with two extra wings to increase the flying stability and flying distance.

“Fire!”

Five hundred soldiers roared thunderously in unison. Their faces were flushed red while they threw out their wide-winged javelins with all their might. The flying sound of the wide-winged javelin was unique, just like the hissing sound of snakes.

Those 500 soldiers were cardless sects that went through specialized training. They were powerful and experts at throwing. Those black wide-winged javelins, when used by them, could reach an unbelievable throwing range.

The 500 wide-winged javelins flew and looking like black rain towards everyone.

The opponent’s attack surprised Chen Mu, but he immediately felt at ease. Cardless sects couldn’t fly, but in terms of power and the control of power, they were a few grades stronger than card artisans. Ordinary card artisans might be in a spin if it was their first encounter with cardless sects. But for card artisans who had fought long with cardless sects from Mohadi Domain, they were not taken aback by their attacks.

“Attack!” Xiaobo hollered in great aggression.

“Cover!” Sang Hanshui commanded without an expression.

Countless orange-red colored high explosive bombs rose up slowly like tiny suns. At the same time, a colossal silver-colored electric net appeared in front of everyone. Wide-winged javelins slammed hard onto the huge silver-colored electric net. The buzzing sound of electricity accompanied the crackling explosions. Wide-winged javelins bounced off the electric net one after another, and some were even blown up into pieces.

The captain’s expression turned slightly anxious, and he shouted angrily, “Wide-winged javelin. Fire!”

At that moment, the other teams couldn’t hold back anymore. Their angry roars rose one after another.

That moment, javelins were shooting out like a meteor shower!

The electric net could no longer resist the attack; it was smashed and shattered into countless electric awns, vanishing in the air.

Sang Hanshui’s expression twitched a little, and he yelled in frustration, “Cover!”

Another electric net!

Two seconds later, it shattered again!

“Cover!”

It was the third electric net. The first team of Youth Guard had their faces washed out, such a large-scale electrical net for protection purposes was depleting a lot of their energy.

All of a sudden, Xiaobo roared in a frenzied voice, “Kill them!”

More than 1,000 orange-red colored high explosive bombs, bearing a resemblance to meteors covering the sky, suddenly came crashing down!

It was the opponent’s turn to turn pale with fright. The captain at the forefront was aghast, even his intonation changed, and he yelled at the top of his lungs, “Stop them!”

In the previous waves of firing, they exerted full power every round; the 500 soldiers were running out of strength. Fortunately, the soldiers of other troops saw their struggle and began to join forces with them!

The sound of javelin piercing through the air, the tearing sound of Air Slash, and the whistling sound of Air Awl were lingering in one’s ears.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

Explosions were covering up every corner of the sky, and the intercepted, super explosive bomb exploded before it reached its target!

The orange-red flame dyed the sky red.

But some bombs weren’t blocked and landed right in the middle of their base.

That was the beginning of their nightmare.

Cardless sects were good at offense but bad at defense. Especially, when they were facing such an energy attack. Every super explosive bomb that dropped onto the base blew countless people up into flesh and blood. Those cardless sects had seen deaths, but they had never seen such a horrible massacre with no place to hide!

How insignificant was the power of an individual in that instant?

They didn’t know how to protect themselves from the explosion. These people belonged to different tribes. They had no cooperation, protection, nor teamwork.

Just when they were held up and stunned by the super explosive bombs, Bogner launched his attack!

‘Oudi Burner’ released an eerie and sinister fire; it was the first wave of his attack.

With the cover-up from the explosion, those small flames weren’t apparent until they were right in front of the base. Whoever saw the Fiery Rain in the sky couldn’t help but feel depressed and powerless.

In their despair, they frantically unleashed Airskill in the hopes of eliminating those peculiar flames.

Even in Heavenly Federation, the notorious ‘Oudi Burner’ was a fearful thing. What was the possibility of extinguishing it?

Flames could be cut into two or smashed into smaller sparks, but they were a challenge to extinguish. Even a tiny flame, when stuck onto the body, would start to burn unceasingly.

Many soldiers had never seen anything so nasty and peculiar. When they saw their companions burning in front of themselves, turning into balls of fire, rolling on the ground, screaming and howling, their willpower finally crumbled.

Those flames were moving slowly, as long as they turned around and ran away, the fire would never catch up with them.

They chose to escape!

One part of the base had succumbed; the situation was a landslide victory.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The dull thunderous explosion was like a string of dense drum beats. It was clear and audible in the noisy and chaotic battlefield. The sound incessantly lingered on!

Pop! At the front line, the captain who was always angrily staring at the battle had a blood red flower bloom from his temple. His movements stagnated, and he fell straight down.

The commander on the lower ground mowed down enemies as if they were wheat amid those dense explosions. Enemies fell by the dozens.

“Whorled Sniper Shuttle”!

In the sky, when Chen Mu saw those attacks, he knew victory was his! He was amazed by Bogner’s calculated attack. Indeed, you couldn’t catch old birds with chaff; the older, the wiser. Bogner had wholly taken the active role to attack and had the absolute advantage. If he could not win, then he would not be the ‘wolf’ Chen Mu knew!

Suddenly he caught a glimpse of a figure; it was Wei-ah!

Wei-ah was advancing towards the base. Chen Mu had some doubts in his mind. In his eyes, Wei-ah was filled with resolution as he advanced, and he even kept Little Bu Mo and the rest away from him.

Chen Mu figured out his intention when he remembered what Wei-ah had told him. Looking in the direction of Wei-ah, the golden mask entered Chen Mu’s sight.

Could it be…

Before he could finish his thoughts, Chen Mu, like a falcon, started to dive down!

The Fiend’s Eye!

Hundreds of red beams burst out from his hands, enveloping the space ahead of Wei-ah.

Screams could be heard endlessly and blood splashing everywhere as the red beams acted like a comb, combing the road ahead of Wei-ah all at once!

Wei-ah took a glance at Chen Mu. There was no need for any explanation between the two men. His speed didn’t decrease at all.

Wei-ah took back his glance and had his glare fixed on the man wearing a golden mask!

“Wei-ah!”

“He’s Wei-ah!”

“He’s still alive!”

The terrified voices of the tribal chiefs fell on Wei-ah’s deaf ears; he only had the man in the golden mask in his eyes.

“Protect King!” the guards shouted hoarsely; their voices were filled with despair!

“Wei-ah. Wei-ah is still alive!”

The sound of panic spread like a plague among the base and was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was not a secret that King slaughtered Wei-ah’s family and hunted him down in Mohadi Domain. Ordinary soldiers didn’t know Wei-ah, but the image of Wei-ah, who took the spot as Mohadi Domain’s strongest man for ten years, was deeply rooted in every veteran’s heart. So when the tribal chiefs shouted Wei-ah’s name, the soldiers had only one idea in their minds—run!

Chen Mu saw anger for the very first time on Wei-ah’s expressionless face!

There was also anguish; Chen Mu felt an emotion that he thought wasn’t possible for Wei-ah.

Wei-ah looked like a mad devil. Chen Mu stopped and looked at him quietly. Somehow, he felt that Wei-ah didn’t need any help at that moment. He just needed to be left alone.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of bone cracking can be heard constantly. Wei-ah didn’t use his Airskill, just his fist. He closed in, eyes on no one else but the man in the golden mask.

No guard could resist a single attack from him! The guards who were fighting back in despair and madness didn’t stop him from moving forward.

That was how he approached the King, step by step, inch by inch!

There was no one around King, but he didn’t retreat. On the contrary, there was a tinge of ridicule in his eyes.

“I had guessed you weren’t dead.” King smiled and said, “It has always been my wish to die by your hands.”

He looked at Chen Mu in the distant, a little regretful, and a little desolate, “It’s just a pity that I didn’t make it to the Heavenly Federation before I die.”

“Who are you?” Wei-ah stared at King, and he hollered at him. His roar seemed to come from the throat of a wild animal.

“Ha-ha,” King chuckled; he stretched out his hand and took down his mask. Beneath was a middle-aged man with a scholarly look, he had a faint sneer on his face. There was no sign of panic; he looked relaxed as if he was meeting his friends. Chen Mu was inadvertently impressed by that person.

“Is my identity that important?” The scorn on King’s face became heavier.

“Why?” Wei-ah seemed to regain his calm, he asked coldly.

“Ha, you’re a good knife, but not mine. You pricked my hands.” King looked at Wei-ah with a spurious smile.

Wei-ah clenched his fist tighter.

King let out a laugh again, and suddenly he turned around and waved at Chen Mu. Chen Mu admired him in his heart; for someone to be so calm before his death, he was a formidable character. When Chen Mu saw him waving to him, he wasn’t afraid and directly flew down.

“You’re from the Heavenly Federation. Let me ask you about a man.” King had a polite smile on his face, which made it hard to refuse his request.

“Who?” Chen Mu asked out of curiosity.

“His name is Tang Hanpei.”

That sentence was different from any of his previous ones. In the sentences he spoke previously, there was indifference, mockery, politeness, and calmness; but there wasn’t any emotion. However, in that sentence Chen Mu could hear the feelings contained in them.

It suddenly dawned on Chen Mu that the man in front of him was somewhat similar to Tang Hanpei, could he be…

“Are you related to him?” Chen Mu asked.

“I’m his elder brother.” King proudly replied. He was proud of his relationship with his youngest brother.

“He’s doing very well. He’s the president of Comprehensive Federation Academy in the Heavenly Federation.” Although Chen Mu had guessed it, he was still somewhat surprised.

King nodded; those titles didn’t mean anything to him in anyway.

Chen Mu added, “He’s my enemy.”

King’s eyes sparkled instantaneously, “Very good!”

He turned around and looked at Wei-ah with a grin, “Are you going to do it, or should I do it myself?”

Wei-ah punched him!

Without looking at the fallen body, he turned away with tears streaming down his face.

In the distance, Bogner, who saw that scene, stood there with a dull and absent look on his face, he was motionless and pale.

A drop of tear fell off.