Chapter 293: Fully Recovered
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
It was hard for anyone to deny the talent of Wang Tong, since he had caught up with his friends in a very short period.
Once Wang Tong got going, there was really nothing that could stop him. As he continued his improvement, he knew that he was about to break through a bottleneck.
Flash had also felt the vast improvements in Wang Tong's performance, and therefore suggested to have a final fight with him. The visiting students were about to return to Capth soon to prepare for the upcoming tournament. Despite the fact that Kal and Karl were still trying to best each other, Flash felt that they had reached their goal of the visit.
News about the final fight had spread like wildfire; Everyone was excited about the fight, as everyone thought that the competition would be exciting enough, as long as each opponent displayed just eighty percent of their skills.
At the beginning of the first round of the match, the audiences saw both contestants use the Art of Iron Wall as their starting formation. It was a formation that was well known for its wretchedness, as it would ruthlessly rattle the attacker's confidence until it crumbled.
Both contestants had focused heavily on their defense. The defense focused strategy had changed quite a lot ever since Wang Tong had first invented it. Everyone marveled at Flash's perfect macro management that was complemented by his flawless micro controls. He was able to make quick and accurate predictions about his opponent's moves based on the current status of the battle, and make effective adjustments based on his predictions.
The defense was the ultimate strategy, since once the attacker got frustrated with failure, he would eventually slip up and make a mistake. Meanwhile, the defender would be able to continually adjust his fleet position until they were at the most advantageous position to strike a blow at enemy ships. This strategy was the essence of the insights Flash had gained during his stay in Ayrlarng.
Wang Tong's lightning micromanagement had also allowed him to hold his ground firmly. There was no apparent winner after a few bouts of harassment and skirmishes.
However, despite the fact that Flash seemed to have gained a slight advantage regarding the number of fleets, people who knew the two fighters well started to feel worried for Flash. They knew that Wang Tong possessed the incredible ability in micro control, and despite Flash's better fleet composition and ship stats, micro control would become the determining factor at the later stage of the battle.
Lo and behold, Wang Tong finally decimated Flash's entire fleet and won the battle by relying on his unmatched skill in micro control.
Seeing that Wang Tong had fully recovered his full power, the students from Capth conceded that they would never cross path with Wang Tong during the finals of the tournament.
The only person that might be able to rival Wang Tong's micro skill was Bisu. However, Bisu could not accurately read opponent's motivations, so it was not likely that he would be able to survive until the later stage of the battle. Certain talents were innate and unteachable. For example, even if both Bisu and Wang Tong observed the same battle formations, their interpretation would be drastically different, which would then lead them to choose drastically different actions.
All aspects of the battle were difficult to improve when the fleet commander had reached a high level. However, the most difficult of all was the ability to make the right decision.
The members of the S clubs were shocked after the first match was over. The micro control skills they had just witnessed were the best of what they had seen. Despite his defeat, Flash's incredible skills had given the members of the S club a chance to see the real power of Wang Tong. Although Wang Tong had his own fighting style, the Confederation never named his style after him, since they understood that to achieve Wang Tong's fighting style required near perfect judgment, which was almost impossible to achieve. So, they found it was pointless to name anything that could not be repeated.
As a matter of fact, Wang Tong's fighting style was the most effective when deployed in the later stage of the battle. Despite its huge draw on the user's soul energy, it was the best way to secure a victory and crush the opponent's confidence.
Zhou Sisi and Cao Yi were both observing the battle quietly. They could tell that even after spending a considerable amount of mind power and soul energy, Wang Tong didn't seem to be tired. On the other hand, Flash appeared to be exhausted after the fierce battle.
Both Zhou Sisi and Cao Yi came to the same conclusion that Wang Tong's physical condition and soul energy were unparalleled.
With a brief rest, the two fighters started the second round. Wang Tong's starting formation had caught everyone off guard; it was the Art of the Soaring Heaven.
Wang Tong wanted to test his ability to combine the defense and offense, since he knew that when faced with the most potent fighters from outside the earth, defense might not be a wise option. So, he decided to sharpen his offensive skills as well.
The Art of Soaring Haven had gained huge popularity over the time largely due to its effectiveness. However, the entire plan of attack was hinged on the fact that the commander was able to elude his moves from his opponent. After all, once enemy scouts discovered the main fleet's position during the early stage of the battle, the defenseless fleet would be met with a catastrophic defeat.
Everyone was shocked by Wang Tong's choice as they thought the Art of Souring Heaven would be extremely risky to use against Flash, who had an acute sense of enemy's intentions.
The audiences soon realized that their worry was not unfounded, and they watched as Wang Tong's forces were discovered and crushed by Flash in an instant. Flash thereby won the second round and set the score to 1 to 1.
No one paid much attention to the scoreboard since it was just practice, and both fighters were there to learn. Flash furrowed his brow as he reflected on the last fight. Despite his victory, he conceded that the Art of the Soaring Heaven was much more potent than he had thought. Flash had once considered adopting the Art of Soaring Heaven, but eventually gave up due to its almost impossible requirements on the commander's AMP micro control abilities.
Flash reckoned that if Wang Tong would able to combine the two fighting styles, he might make the tournament even more entertaining to watch.
During the third round, Wang Tong repeated his last strategy and used the Art of Soaring Heaven as the opening formation. However, he was more careful in concealing his forces this time. After a few rounds of harassment and skirmish, both fleets broke their initial formations and forced the two commanders to deploy incredible skills in improvising plans on the spot under a chaotic situation. After a few minutes, seeing no one was gaining an edge as the battle turned into a stalemate, the two commanders ended the battle with a draw.
The three rounds of competition lasted over two hours, and both participants felt that not only they had a great time, but they had also learned a great deal from each other.
Flash was aware that Wang Tong was trying out new fighting strategies during the match. He conceded that Wang Tong had a more creative mind than him, since all he had done was improve upon others’ techniques, but Wang Tong had continuously invented new ones. It was not easy to reinvent a new fighting style, since it required a perfect sense of timing in terms of when to attack or defend. Any smallest changes to the opening formation would make the entire strategy ineffective.
The two students looked at each other, and for a second, they both thought they were looking into a mirror. They shook hands cordially. "Wang Tong, I will see you at the tournament!"
"You bet! I look forward to fighting alongside with you!"
The two smiled at each other knowingly. They knew that they had both become the strongest fleet commander among their circle of friends. However, they both conceded that there would be much stronger opponents waiting for them at the tournament.
The audiences were pleased to have recorded their fleet battle. The recording would serve as their study material for a while before they fully grasped the strategies that had been deployed. The other members of the S club had since given up the hope of surpassing the two; they only wanted to improve their own abilities.
Wang Tong checked his skynet and noticed that Li Ruoer had been sending him messages persistently. She asked Wang Tong out for dinner together before the promised duel. Wang Tong checked the clock and realized that he had ample time for a dinner, so he replied and confirmed Li Ruoer's request.
"Is everything alright?" Zhou Sisi asked.
"Yea. She asked me out for dinner. If she was really up to something, it's better to deal with it sooner than later. Plus, she is paying." Wang Tong cracked a smile.
"Don't lower your guards. Remember that the tournament is coming up, and you can't afford to have anything bad happen to you right now. I know you would do well in the tournament, so don't let her stop you." Zhou Sisi was confident that Wang Tong would be victorious at the tournament.
"Thank you! You have worked hard as well, so I believe that you would do as well as me."
"You think too much of me." Zhou Sisi's face lit up with glee. "But, as long as you and your elite friends are not my opponents, I should be able to handle myself."
"I am sure you would!" Wang Tong patted on Zhou Sisi's shoulder. The two's relationship had deepened significantly over time.
With a clear goal in mind, Wang Tong had become determined in his course of actions, and was convinced that Ma Xiaoru would be fine under her parent's wings of protection.
Zhou Sisi felt a warm and fussy feeling rise inside her as she watched the disappearing image of Wang Tong. She had come to terms with being Wang Tong's friend, and was content with the way her first love had concluded. She reminded herself to focus on her study and learn from Samantha to be a confident and successful woman.
With the newfound motivation, Zhou Sisi walked back to the simulation room and started to study the recording of the fight between Wang Tong and Flash.
After arriving at his dorm, Wang Tong took a shower and spruced himself up. He was determined to put an end to whatever Li Ruoer was scheming, so that he could finally focus on his training.