Gu Tongâs words were cold and determined, and even his teammates could feel his anger and disdain for Wu Lingling.
âBingshou, you support from range once the match begins. Lieyun, you keep her distracted with feints. Iâll land the finis.h.i.+ng blow on her!â Gu Tong said to his teammates as he unsheathed his two daggers. âHowever, make sure to be careful when you attack her, Lieyun. Wu Lingling might be a Swordsman, but sheâs even more agile than an a.s.sa.s.sin. She also has numerous attack patterns. Make sure you do not get caught up with her for too long. It doesnât matter even if your Strength is greater than hers. You wonât be able to cope with her attacks once the fight prolongs.â
âI understand. You can rest a.s.sured, Boss Gu,â Lieyun, a Berserker who was nearly two meters tall and clad in armor, said and nodded.
Lieyun was well aware of Wu Linglingâs strengths. Even his instructor had praised Wu Lingling for her offensive capabilities in one-on-one combat. When it came to one-on-one combat, Wu Lingling was the undisputed number one among the freshmen this year, and even Gu Tong was slightly weaker than her in this regard.
Meanwhile, Lieyun couldnât last more than ten seconds in a frontal confrontation against Gu Tong, so heâd be foolish to try to win against Wu Lingling by himself.
âBingshou, when youâre attacking Wu Lingling, you donât need to care about me or Lieyun. Just make sure Wu Lingling cannot chain her attacks,â Gu Tong said as he looked at the short-haired girl, who wielded a bow and wore light armor, standing beside Lieyun. âMany people are watching this compet.i.tion. We cannot let Wu Lingling have any chances at showing us off!â
When the girl named Bingshou heard Gu Tongâs words, her expression immediately sharpened.
At this time, she and Lieyun had already been recognized as reserve internal members of Shadow. Meanwhile, the treatment they would receive as internal members would depend on their performance in todayâs compet.i.tion.
While Gu Tong was discussing strategies with his teammates, the timer above the waiting area finished counting down. Immediately, the trio found themselves teleported into a forest and saw Wu Lingling, who wielded two longswords and was clad in light silver armor, standing beside a large tree that was around 100 yards away from them.
âŠ
Along with the start of the match, the spectators in the arena also started making a racket.
âItâs finally starting!â
âA forest? Wu Lingling might still have a chance after all.â
âThe question now is whether Gu Tong will go for a one-on-one fight. I heard that Gu Tong is treating Wu Lingling as his rival and that he intends on beating her to secure himself as number one among the freshmen.â
âWhat a pity. If Wu Linglingâs instructor wasnât that s.h.i.+ Feng, we couldâve witnessed an interesting match today.â
The many students, instructors, and Guild executives present held a hushed discussion as they looked at the holographic display with great interest.
After Wu Xiaoxiao, Wu Linglingâs and Gu Tongâs names received the most attention in the G.o.dâs Domain Academy right now. Many people would also frequently compare the two with each other. Some people even believed that this generationâs freshmen would lead the G.o.dâs Domain Academy into its golden era because of these two students.
However, to everyoneâs surprise and confusion, Wu Lingling had actually chosen to apprentice under Shadowâs ex-Guild Leader. Now, because of s.h.i.+ Feng, she even had to go up against Gu Tongâs team of three all by herselfâŠ
While the spectators outside were discussing among themselves, Gu Tong did not remain idle on the battlefield.
âDonât let her escape our sight! Bingshou, seal her movements! Lieyun, charge with me!â
After arriving on the battlefield, Gu Tong immediately a.n.a.lyzed the battlefield and shouted instructions to his teammates. Simultaneously, he activated his Stealth skill and charged at Wu Lingling without hesitation.
When Lieyun heard Gu Tongâs command, he instantly reacted and activated the Tier 3 Flame Charge, transforming into a huge ball of flames that charged at Wu Lingling.
As for Bingshou, she drew her longbow and used the Tier 3 Wind Wings against Wu Lingling. Then, as soon as she released her bow, eight arrows shot out of her bow and transformed into blades of wind that flew at Wu Lingling from multiple directions, cutting off Wu Linglingâs paths of escape.
âŠ
When Luo Tiancheng, who sat in the spectator stands, saw the actions of Gu Tongâs team, he couldnât help but sneer and think, As expected of the Guild Leaderâs little brother! Beautifully done!
Originally, Luo Tiancheng had still been rather worried that Gu Tong would grow soft-hearted against his opponent and choose to fight Wu Lingling one-on-one. If that happened, it would give Wu Lingling a significantly greater chance of winning. That, in turn, would improve s.h.i.+ Fengâs performance as an instructor.
Thankfully, Gu Tong did not choose to fight Wu Lingling one-on-one. Moreover, he had even wisely instructed his teammate to seal off Wu Linglingâs paths of retreat. Now, Wu Lingling had no choice but to clash against Gu Tongâs team of three. In such a situation, Gu Tongâs team was almost certain to win. It might even become a landslide victory. If that happened, Wu Xiaoxiao, the Academyâs top talent, would definitely come and find trouble with s.h.i.+ Feng.
Meanwhile, when Lin Yaoyue saw the development on the battlefield, she couldnât help but frown and glance at s.h.i.+ Feng, who sat in front of her.
What is he thinking?
Lin Yaoyue couldnât help but be confused by s.h.i.+ Fengâs actions. While she wasnât interested in the affairs between s.h.i.+ Feng and Shadow, that didnât mean she was willing to watch one of the Academyâs top talents suffer a humiliating defeat in front of so many people.
Moreover, s.h.i.+ Feng had just arrived at the G.o.dâs Domain Academy. Logically, if he wanted to raise his position in the Academy or prove his value to Shadow, he should cherish Wu Lingling a lot. After all, there had been many instances in the past where instructors of the Academy had received a huge promotion because of a talented student. This was also why the Academyâs instructors were willing to sacrifice a lot of their time and resources into nurturing their students.
However, no matter how Lin Yaoyue looked at the current situation, it did not seem like s.h.i.+ Feng was trying to nurture Wu Lingling at all. On the contrary, he seemed to be trying to harm Wu Linglingâs future.
âŠ
Back on the battlefield, Lieyun had already arrived before Wu Lingling and swung his battle axe at her, the two-handed weapon releasing a blinding radiance and increasing in size as it made its way to Wu Lingling.
At the same time, Gu Tong had used Shadow Steps and appeared behind Wu Lingling. Then, he brandished his daggers at Wu Linglingâs back.
âDie!â
Combat technique, Phantom Snake!
Immediately, the two gleaming daggers transformed into multiple phantom snakes that struck at Wu Lingling from various blindspots, the attacks seamlessly timed with Lieyunâs gigantified axe.
âŠ
âHow ruthless!â
The various instructors and Guild executives were astonished when they saw Gu Tong and Lieyunâs joint a.s.sault.
The two studentsâ joint a.s.sault was something even veteran experts like themselves would have trouble dealing with if their Basic Attributes were equalized. This was because the two students were attacking with the intention of trading lives.
In the case of Lieyun, he was attacking Wu Lingling without paying any regard to his defense. He was fully intent on receiving any counterattacks Wu Lingling launched with his body. Moreover, to ensure his attack landed on Wu Lingling, he had even chosen to use an AOE Skill with wide coverage. And seeing how close Gu Tong was to Wu Lingling, it would seem that Lieyun intended on hitting Wu Lingling even at the cost of hitting Gu Tong.
As for Gu Tong, he showed no intentions of dodging Lieyunâs attack, either. Instead, he focused all of his attention on striking Wu Linglingâs weak points and sealing off any possible paths of retreat for the Swordsman.
In this situation, even if Wu Lingling had noticed Gu Tongâs presence behind her, there was nothing she could do to avoid both Lieyunâs and Gu Tongâs suicidal attacks. The only thing she could do was choose to dodge one of their attacks. However, no matter which attack Wu Lingling chose to evade, she would still end up getting killed by the other personâs attack.
Normally, in a three-on-one situation, the side with the numerical advantage wouldnât have chosen such a suicidal combat method. Instead, they would rely on their numerical advantage to suppress and whittle down their opponent. Yet, Gu Tongâs team had chosen this suicidal combat method to ensure their victory and leave Wu Lingling with no opportunities to make a comeback.
âŠ
Back on the battlefield, even when Lieyunâs gigantified axe and Gu Tongâs shadow snakes were about to devour Wu Lingling, Wu Lingling actually remained motionless, behaving as if she had not noticed the two attacks coming at her.
Did she give up?
Gu Tong couldnât help but be confused when he saw Wu Linglingâs lack of reaction. In his opinion, an expert like Wu Lingling should more or less put up a struggle even when faced with such a hopeless situation. Yet, nowâŠ
âIt seems I have overestimated you!â Gu Tong said, his eyes filled with disappointment. At the same time, his hands also moved with greater speed as he planned to end this boring battle quickly.
However, as soon as Gu Tong finished speaking, a crisp and sweet voice suddenly appeared from beside him.
âI think so as well.â
Gu Tong was startled when he heard this voice. This was because he couldnât be any more familiar with this voice.
Wu Lingling!
This was Wu Linglingâs voice!
Glancing at the source of the voice, Gu Tong immediately found himself stunned.
Through the corner of his eyes, Gu Tong actually saw Wu Lingling standing a short distance away from him, behaving like a spectator as she watched him and Lieyun executing their suicidal a.s.sault.
Gu Tong wasnât the only one who saw this scene. Lieyun and Bingshou also saw this scene. However, unlike Gu Tong, they quickly recovered from their shock and started shouting at Gu Tong to get out of the way in a panic. After all, with Lieyunâs combat standards, he was incapable of altering his attack trajectory this late into his attack. Meanwhile, a full-powered attack from a Tier 3 Berserker was not something a Tier 3 a.s.sa.s.sin could survive. So, Gu Tongâs only chance to live now was to dodge Lieyunâs attack.
Only, that evidently wasnât possible with Gu Tongâs current state of mindâŠ
âŠ
Meanwhile, when the various instructors and Guild executives saw this scene, they couldnât help but cry out in surprise.
âMirage Steps?!â
âImpossible! Mirage Steps is a top-tier footwork among basic combat techniques! Even veteran frontline experts have a hard time learning it! How can a freshman like Wu Lingling master it already?!â
The many experts in the arena quickly understood the cause for two Wu Linglings to appear on the battlefield. Seeing as there were no fluctuations in the Mana around Wu Lingling, the girl definitely did not use a Skill or Spell. Thus, the only explanation they could come up with for this situation was that Wu Lingling had executed Mirage Steps, a basic combat technique.
However, Mirage Steps was a special footwork that even frontline experts had difficulty mastering. Anyone capable of mastering it would be regarded as a powerful expert even in first-rate Guilds.
Is this the reason for his confidence?
At this time, even Lin Yaoyue was surprised when she saw this scene, her eyes inadvertently turning to s.h.i.+ Feng, who currently wore a calm expression on his face.