Chapter 499: Survival Of The Fittest
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Sometimes, Wang Tong wondered if Patroclus had joined the Zergs as an undercover agent. Espionage had been the Dower family's traditional perk anyways. Perhaps, someone at the House Dower had foreseen the power dynamics decades ago, and had planned Patroclus' switch of allegiance. However, if that were the case, why did Patroclus did all he could to see to the human race's extinction?
Or, maybe Patroclus had initially turned to the Zerg as an undercover, but the merging process had consumed his ability to reason, and driven him to madness, giving him the idea of creating his own race, the immortals.
Wang Tong had denied the reality and his responsibility for five years, and he reckoned that it was about time to finally face his destiny.
On the plaza inside Battle Wolf's camp, the soldiers practiced the Flame Cut in unison. Their movement held a deadly force that threatened to crush anything in their path. It was an encouraging sight to behold.
In half a month, Wang Tong had established his authority within the group. His words carried more weight than even that of Guan Dongyang, although part of this change was thanks to Guan Dongyang's unwavering support.
Sensing the great improvements in the soldiers of the Battle Wolf, Wang Tong started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. When he first started training the soldiers, he never thought about what would happen in the end. However, as he witnessed the growth around him, a vision of the future started to take shape in his mind.
Wherever Wang Tong went, the soldiers around him beamed from side to side; eager to show off their recent improvement as they exercised with greater enthusiasm and vigor.
Everyone knew that Wang Tong had a soft spot for food. Therefore, some soldiers had smuggled food from the kitchen to his shop in exchange for a one on one tutoring session.
The risk of being caught stealing food out of the kitchen by Hamir was a small price to pay for powerful abilities.
Lun Duo and Tan Bu also grew their power very quickly and had become the left and right-hand men of Ross. Seeing that everyone was catching up with him, Ross devoted more time to his training. Not only did he have a solid foundation, but Wang Tong's help had quickly improved his combat abilities, which helped him strengthen his confidence amidst the fierce competition.
When Wang Tong arrived at the Mastery's classroom, everyone was talking about the Mastery Tornado that Wang Tong had promised to teach them. Some discussion had turned into a heated debate, but Wang Tong didn't interfere, neither did he clarify the student's questions. He knew that fully understanding a mastery spell was a long process, and only through debating over and over again could one fully grasp the concepts. Being told of a concept and fully understanding it were two entirely different things.
Guan Dongyang gave Wang Tong a knowing smile as soon as he saw him. He was the first one to grasp the inner workings of the Mastery Tornado fully. Although even a mid-level mastery would be able to wield it with ease, its power would grow as the cultivator leveled up.
The Fire drake was the run of the mill kind of Mastery, so, as soon as the wielder reached level sixteen, its damage output would fall short compared to the caster's potential. Therefore, Guan Dongyang had used the self-invented Inferno Hell as a step-up from the normal fire drake. However, ever since he reached level nineteen, he started to use Wang Tong's new version of the Inferno Fire.
"Although the wind and the fire elements are compatible with each other, you will likely have to wait until level twenty to be able to combine them effectively." Wang Tong smiled at Guan Dongyang and said.
"Hehe, I have already known that. Did you intend to use the Mastery Tornado as a group mastery? I had always thought that we had too many casters in our group mastery. However, when I was experimenting with the fire and the wind element yesterday, I realized how wrong I was: we need more men!"
"Hehe! There are seventy mastery casters in Battle Wolf. I estimate that we would need at least two hundred casters to mix the two elements successfully."
"Two...Two hundred?" Guan Dongyang asked incredulously.
"Yes. Haha... On another note, since the Zergs have decided to turtle inside the city, we might as well pay them a visit. Would you like to join me?" Wang Tong said with a smirk.
"Haha, that sounds interesting! Count me in!"
"Me too!" Lie Xuan announced from behind the two.
Wang Tong scowled. "This is a risky mission. Let the men handle it."
Guan Dongyang furrowed his brows; he knew Wang Tong was about to experience some shock.
"Haha, I won't go if it isn't dangerous. Dongyang, what do you say?" Lie Xuan walked to Guan Dongyang and linked their arms.
Guan Dongyang suppressed a scowl, and without any hesitation, he threw Wang Tong under the bus, "My sweetheart is a powerful fighter. I say we should let her tag along."
"Fine, fine. But, you need to listen to orders. "
"Look at yourself. All of us are top warriors on Mars. Why are you so afraid of puny bugs? Alright, I will listen to your orders, mister. Are you happy now?" Lie Xuan said with a mischievous smirk on her face. She wanted to enter the city to gain more information for House Lie.
Since Guan Dongyang had lived around the city for over five years, he knew a lot about the city and its surrounding areas. As he was showing Wang Tong the Zergs' defense layout around the city, a soldier stormed into the room.
"Captain, a messenger from the Blizzard Band wants to see you."
Ever since the fall of Thunder Fire after the tournament, Blizzard has risen to be the most influential war band around the area. However, they have remained distant from Battle Wolf and never sent in visitors, until now.
"Wang Tong, let's find out what they want."
"Hehe, I bet they want to form an alliance with us."
Uniting all the factions under the banner of the Battle Wolf had always been one of Guan Dongyang's goals. However, Battle Wolf was still too weak to become the leader of the factions.
Inside the meeting room, Guan Dongyang met with two of the Blizzard's messengers. "Captain Guan, we have a message for you from our Captain."
Guan Dongyang cracked a smile and then asked. "What is so important that it needed to disturb Captain Aamir?"
"The Thunder Fire and the Rock Buster have gathered forces against you. You need to move your camp soon."
Both Guan Dongyang and Wang Tong were shocked by the news. "That is impossible! I don't think Marcos would make such a stupid mistake."
"Hehe, Captain Guan, I think you have thought too highly of that jerk. Well, that was the message I needed to deliver. Goodbye to Captain Guan."
"Thank you. Please say thank you to your captain for me. "
The sudden turn of events had put a halt to Wang Tong and Guan Dongyang's plan of infiltrating the city. They couldn't afford to fight on both sides.
Regardless whether the news was true or not, Guan Dongyang had to treat it carefully. He called off the training and assembled a meeting.
No one could believe what they had heard when Guan Dongyang told them about the news.
"We need to figure out the truth sooner than later. I can't think of any reason why the Blizzard would spread false news."
"Balls! We were nice to them, but this is how they treat us? "
While everyone was venting their anger and disbelief, Hamir sat in his chair quietly. He was always the calm one. He glanced at Lie Xuan and then asked. "Lie Xuan, do you think House Lie would be able to help us out?"
Lei Xuan didn't reply; instead, she thought about the question for a while. Before she provided her answer, Ye Zi shook her head and then said: "Not likely. The Thunder Fire must be prepared for this attack, so they should know that Lie Xuan is with us, yet they still moved against us. I can tell that they are counting on House Lie's inability to act on the situation."
"These guys are nuts!"
"Captain, what should we do? We can't just sit and wait for our death."
Lie Xuan frowned. She knew that although Battle Wolf had greatly improved its strength over the last few weeks, a joined assault of Thunder Fire and Rock Buster would devastate the smaller and still budding war band. Ye Zi was right. However powerful the House Lie was, Maersa district was too far away from the power center to control effectively. Plus, this was an internal dispute between two local warbands, so House Lie have little to no reason to interfere.
"I will go to talk to Marcos. Maybe, I can talk some sense into his thick skull. We can't afford a civil war right now with the Zergs right at our doorsteps." Lie Xuan announced.
Guan Dongyang saw the sense in her plan. Negotiation seemed to be his best option right now.