Chapter 300: Always Be The Winner
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Zhou Sisi remained calm and started the battle with a single base, and focused heavily on early aggression. Her opponent, who failed to foresee Zhou Sisi’s change in strategy, was unprepared when Zhou Sisi’s harassment came. A few seconds later, Zhou Sisi won the fourth round and evened the score.
Everyone applauded for Zhou Sisi’s methodical and calm approach, as well as her perseverance. There was never a lack of talented fleet battle commanders who had excellent skills and abilities. However, only those who had the iron will to carry through difficult times with calmness would eventually be successful in their career.
Natural talent might give an academy student fifteen seconds of fame, but it was tenacity that could make a real commander out of a mere teenager.
During the fifth and the final round of battle, Zhou Sisi did what she did best—adjusting her mentality. She let go of her desires of winning, and focused her mind entirely on the match. Her strategy also took a 180-degree turn as she focused on developing fleet economy instead of early aggression.
The defeat ruffled the Ivantian, so he decided to play safe as he deployed many costly defense systems while emptying his fleet coffer in the process. However, after his scout finally found Zhou Sisi’s base, he realized that the earthling girl’s economic advantage had enabled her to create a much more productive and well-defended base than his. After the reality set in, the Ivantian calmed down and conceded that he should attack right then. The Ivantian’s aggression worked for a while in the beginning, thanks to his superior micro control. However, the little advantage he had stolen during skirmishes was not enough to topple the formidable defense of Zhou Sisi’s base. As the battle carried on until the late stage, the two players finally lined up their fleets and were ready for the showdown, and that was when the Ivantians slipped up again.
It would be unfair to call it a slip-up, since he didn’t actually do anything wrong but simply overlooked Zhou Sisi’s micro ability.
Zhou Sisi used her coup de grace: the colon technique.
Although her execution of the technique was not as fluid as Wang Tong, her usage of the Kaedeian’s traditional technique had disheveled her opponent. Zhou Sisi seized an opportunity and defeated the Ivantain after only one around of fire.
Sitting in the audience seat, Wang Tong gave Zhou Sisi a thumbs-up.
Zhou Sisi held her trembling hand together, excitement written all over her face as her victory set in.
This battle was a textbook example of the weak overcoming the strong.
The students form Ayrlarng cheered loudly. No one had thought that Zhou Sisi would be the winner. However, she proved to everyone that being cool-headed was more critical than micro skills.
As soon as Karl’s match began, he became engrossed in the battle. Practice made a man perfect, and Karl had gradually become a force to be reckoned with. His power had gone beyond skills and techniques, as it had blend in with his instinct.
Karl’s opponent attacked with abandon at the beginning. However, Karl ‘s instinct had told him that his opponent would focus heavily on early aggression. Therefore, when his opponent’s fleet arrived at Karl’s well-defended base, it was obliterated right away. The opponent acknowledged his defeat without the slightest indignation.
A full-on assault early on was a double-edged blade, as once it failed, the sudden setback would almost undoubtedly erode the commander’s confidence.
In the second round, Karl reversed the role and became the early aggressor. With his unrivaled micro skills and the element of surprise, Karl won the second round with ease.
The third round quickly turned into Karl’s solo performance. There was no need to worry that Karl would lower his guard, because he always went all out, regardless of his opponent’s strength.
After Karl and Zhou Sisi’s match, everyone waited impatiently for Wang Tong’s to start. Wang Tong seemed to have a piece of work cut out for him this time, as his opponent was a seed fighter from Royal Kaedeian Academy called Rhimo
Convinced that it was her destiny to bring home the title of champion, Rhimo was confident that she would end this match quickly with a score of three to none.
Wang Tong had already recovered to his full capacity, and therefore, he decided that there was no need to hold back his strength any longer. What he should do instead was to push himself to the limit, and Rhimo would be a perfect lab rat.
The overwhelming victory had astonished the host and the audiences, including those from the S club who had seen Wang Tong’s previous power first hand.
Flash was the only person that had expected such an outcome, since he was the only person who knew that Wang Tong’s real power was well above that of most of the fleet combat contestants.
Wang Tong won the second round in a blink of the eyes without any difficulty.
Leveraging his unmatched discernment, Wang Tong had unleashed his full potential. Thanks to the Tactics of the Blade, Wang Tong had achieved unimaginable power, and instead of holding them back, Wang Tong conceded that he needed to practice them to make the power part of his instinct.
Mr. Wannabe’s training had not only strengthened Wang Tong’s body, but also had —although unintentionally—changed his mindset, making him more willing to brave his boundaries. It was a much-needed transition for Wang Tong.
The Tactics of the Blade was the king of all other tactics, and therefore, its user needed to have the personality of an assertive ruler to use it to its full intent.
Although it would be difficult for Wang Tong to tell the difference between arrogance and assertiveness, there would be only one rule that Wang Tong would need to adhere to: be the winner.
After a few rounds of playoff games, the host finally announced the final thirty-two contestants.
There were six from the Earth, Flash, Bisu, Karl, Best, Wang Tong, and Zhou Sisi. Ayrlarng had unprecedentedly gained the greatest number of students on this list school wise.
The Kaedeians had twenty-six contestants on the list, while the Ivantians had ten. No one from Mars had reached the list.
From there on, the battles would all be intense clashes between top-notch students, and luck would no longer play an important part in the outcome.
After Wang Tong had defeated Rhimo with ease, he had quickly turned into the media’s new favorite.
Soon, the thirty-two students started to battle against each other for a seat in the final sixteen.
Flash and Bisu were the first in making their way into the final sixteen list. Flash had defeated his opponent with the same score of three to none. He had performed his skills flawlessly so far, and was almost invincible. He had quickly become the most expected player to win the title of champion. The earth confederation was also very pleased with Flash’s performance so far, and hoped that this boy would be able to prove to the world that earthlings were no less capable in fleet combat than the Kaedeians.
During his battles with the Kaedeians, Flash had demonstrated exactly that. He made it clear that the Kaedeians did not have a huge advantage from their race. Instead, having the right mindset during the battle was the key to winning a fleet battle.
Bisu had won his match with a score of three to one. Although his freakish AMP ability could overwhelm his opponent, his AMP was far from powerful compared to that of Kaedeians. However, his training with Flash and taught him the ability to predict enemies moves, as well as the method to control the flow of the combat. Thanks to these newfound skills, Bisu was able to defeat his tough Kaedeian opponent eventually.
Karl had also entered the final sixteen as his ability was almost god-like. The former F class student had never imagined that one day, he would be considered one of the most powerful students of anything.
After his victory, Karl displayed his signature victory pose. The public loved this honest young man, and many had joined his fan club.
Unfortunately, Best lost his battle two to three to a Kaedeian. He had tried his best, but he conceded that the gap between their power was unbridgeable. Best had expected this to happen, as it was hard to predict the outcome of any fleet combat matches. Although he had lost, he still considered it a good fight.
“Congratulations to Wang Tong again! Three to zero and made yet another breakthrough for Ayrlarng! Two of the three contestants from Ayrlarng have already got their ticket to the next round.”
Wang Tong waved his arm nonchalantly. He was at his peak condition, so no ordinary opponent would pose a real threat to him. His opponent, a Kaedeian girl, was still dumbfounded by her defeat. She remembered that Wang Tong made a straightforward move, and her fleet crumbled without any apparent reason. All the while, the girl was confident that she had carried out her tactics flawlessly.
The members of the S club were ecstatic at the news. Two of their members had already entered the final sixteen. They believed that the fame of their club was about to reach a new height.
Right after his match, Wang Tong hurried to Zhou Sisi’s session to offer his encouragement.
When he got there, he found Zhou Sisi was mired in a fight against an opponent from the moon. He was the top fleet combat seed player KKK. He was a well-known contestant among the small circles of the fleet combat enthusiasts. His ability was on par with Flash even under the most conservative estimation.
His excessive brutality was well known, just like his fleet combat abilities. Zhou Sisi’s skill had fallen short during the fight, as the Ivantian was slowly nipping away her fleet force, as if teasing her. Although Zhou Sisi possessed dauntless courage, her failure was evident.
KKK loved to play with his prey before he finally finished them off. In the end, KKK blatantly revealed all of his base locations to mock his opponent, hoping the humiliation would force her into submission.
