advance/early chapters : p atreon.com/Ritesh_Jadhav0869
In the VIP guest seats, Archmage Alaric, dressed in flowing azure robes, smiled and turned to the man beside him. "Chancellor Valeron, do you still think that Northgate University has no hope? This Russell took on the entirety of River City University by himself."
Chancellor Valeron's expression remained unchanged. "I don't look down on River City University. After all, the fleet of Admiral Waters, who founded the school, was world-famous. It's just this current class of students... they aren't very best."
Archmage Alaric rolled his eyes without commenting, then changed the topic. "What about Northwestern University of Science and Technology? What insights does the Chancellor have? Tell us."
Hearing about the dark horse that had defeated a strong school again today, Valeron immediately became interested. "Northwestern shouldn't be able to contact the Technocracy across the ocean, right? Archmage, you have seen the cards of those foreigners. Do you think they are the same?"
Hearing this, Archmage Alaric carefully recalled the cards of the foreign group he had seen and immediately expressed his judgment. "No. The gap between them is still quite large. Northwestern is not on the same path as them."
His words attracted the attention of everyone present. Seeing everyone looking at him eagerly, Alaric did not keep them in suspense.
"Some of those foreigners are very similar to us," he began. "But there are those from the Iron Empire in the West. Originally, they planned to take over our lands, but then the secret realms descended. Initially, they didn't even think about using technology to create things. Instead, they relied on the myths of the indigenous people to make cards to resist the invasion. But you also know that the Westerners have a special liking for technology. So, after initially getting out of trouble, they merged the local myths with their tech. I heard them call it Mecha-Gods."
"It is said that the cards held by their most powerful cardmaker, Adley the White-Crowned, are of this type. It seems to be called something like... [Supreme Machine God: Quetzalcoatl]."
Everyone present was stunned. Although they had some knowledge about the foreign countries on the other side of the sea, this was the first time they had heard of such a secret. Archmage Alaric was not surprised by their reaction; he had felt the same way when he first heard those foreigners speak. After all, the card of Yves St. Clair, the Palace-level cardmaker of the Federation, was [Hyperion, Lord of Light]. The difference between the two concepts was stark.
"Come to think of it," Alaric muttered to himself, "those tech-obsessed maniacs might be trying to create a mechanical version of The Holy Trinity." Suppressing the strange thought, he coughed and brought the topic back to Northwestern. "The cards of those kids are just simple mechanical structures. They have nothing to do with mythology. So there's a big difference between the two."
After hearing this, all the old men suddenly understood.
Valeron listened quietly to Alaric's detailed explanation before speaking. "But from my observation, Anson's card should have some unusual features. We can continue to look forward to the follow-up." Anson was the captain of the Northwestern University Battle Club.
Some people present agreed with his point of view, while others felt that he was paying too much attention to this grassroots person who had come out of nowhere. But a group of old foxes would not say it out loud in public to offend the Chancellor.
The Round of 32 competition on the first day of the main event lasted until late at night. After all, not everyone could make decisions as quickly as Russell. Most students' cards were evenly matched, and a game would take at least half an hour. If you encountered two turtle-style defensive decks, it was even more torturous; it all depended on whose mental strength was exhausted first.
However, there was no upset like Northwestern's in the subsequent games. If upsets were so easy to come by, the audience wouldn't be so desperate for a dark horse.
After a day's competition, the Northgate team knew their next opponents.
Capital University.
Their good luck had ended, and they had finally encountered a tougher team. Capital University was also a favorite to win the championship, and the strength it had shown this year should not be underestimated.
"For the match the day after tomorrow, please appear in the normal order," Coach Carter said, lying on the sofa, scrolling through his phone and scratching his belly.
Russell and the others nodded. It was no wonder Carter looked like a wretched middle-aged man. The main reason was that the national competition had little to do with the coach. It was good enough for him to help arrange competitions and order takeout. Could he really be expected to act like a head coach during warm-ups? Besides, even if he wanted to go up and fight, the tournament organizing committee would not approve it.
However, a team like Capital University would never let Russell take the lead easily. Although he felt that he had played all his public cards, it was not impossible for him to try to fight one against five.
Thinking of this, he decided to reveal a truth first. "Everyone, you should have seen the [Silver Arm] in the secret realm last time, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the silver arm-guard instantly attached to his hand. Seeing this, Lucian and the other two nodded, leaving Grant alone with a confused look on his face.
"This card of Russell's can make up for the problem that his King Arthur card is weak after releasing a powerful attack," Lucian explained to Grant in a low voice.
Grant was shocked. He naturally knew Russell's Artoria card, having seen the release of Caliburn on live TV. Although its power was indeed terrifying, it was difficult to hit, had a long charge time, and left the card weak after release. These were problems that could not be ignored. But he hadn't expected that Russell had actually made an equipment card to deal with this situation in such a short time.
"So you plan to reveal this card in this round of battle?" Grant asked confidently.
Who would have thought that Russell shook his head. Everyone present, including Carter, was stunned. They had all thought so.
The next moment, Russell revealed the answer. "What I want to say is that I made a new creature card."
"?"
Huge question marks appeared over the heads of everyone present. They didn't understand for a moment. Did Russell mean that he had made another card?
Afraid they wouldn't understand the strength of his new creation, he quickly added, "It will definitely not be weaker than Neliel." "My idea is that I can use the newly made card in this round, and hide the [Silver Arm] to use at a critical moment later. But the hidden power of the new card must not be exposed just like that, so I hope everyone can come on stage this round to help me get some information so that I can hide my trump card."
As soon as Russell mentioned Neliel, everyone had an impression of her. They still remembered the heroic green-haired female knight who had stabbed Wade's last card to death.
Lucian was the first to come back to his senses. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then I'll go first." He had his reasons. He thought that his ability should be ranked in the upper-middle level in the entire national competition, and it would not be difficult to replace two ordinary players. He could even take on five people at once against some weak teams. "If I can take out three or four people," he added, "then Russell, you can just go on the court. If that doesn't work, let Jean or Grant go first."
Russell nodded and approved the arrangement. "That's it. I hope everything goes smoothly." Although he felt that he could go on stage directly if Lucian only replaced two of them, since the other party said so, it would be better to let the others try the waters.
"Okay, it's getting late, let's go back and get some rest." They looked at the clock and found that it was already one o'clock in the morning.
On the third day, Russell and his friends arrived at the venue early. As the second round of the Round of 16, the popularity was naturally higher than the previous round. The Northgate team also inquired about the opponents of several other competitive universities.
Federation Science & Technology University vs. The Federation Mystics College.Kirin University vs. Heron Island University.Northwestern University of Science and Technology vs. Zephyr University.
There were basically no weak teams in the top 16. Each school had its own trump card, some revealed, some hidden.
"I didn't expect that we would be the first to go on stage," Russell said casually on the sidelines, looking at the female cardmaker riding a muscular man not far away.
A moment later, the referee was ready. Northgate and Capital University sent out their first players. Northgate's representative was naturally Lucian. Capital University sent a player Russell had no impression of.
In the stands, a young man with a crew cut from Kirin University stared at Russell sitting in the Northgate preparation seat and silently crushed the iron ball in his hand. "Russell, I will not lose to you this time." The students around him were silent, wondering what had happened to this gentleman. Speaking of which, the main members of Kirin University's duel club also had their grievances. They had clearly made it into the top 16 with a strong team leader, but how had the combination of double happiness led to this situation? This guy next to them was really hard to get along with. They couldn't beat him in a fight, and they didn't have the support of others. All they could do was endure it silently. Of course, if this guy could lead them to win the championship... then they only had two words to say: Loyalty! Sincerity!
On the field, the two cardmakers had already summoned their cards. Pitch-black clouds enveloped the venue, with fine electric snakes swirling through them. The black mud, like a living thing, undulated in layers on the ground. The young man in black armor was covered with dazzling lightning. With a roar, a huge lightning spear descended upon the card sent by the Capital University student like a punishment from heaven.
It was obvious that Lucian had not bragged about his strength. Even without Russell, it should not have been difficult for Northgate to make it to the top 16 under his leadership. The battle lasted only a short while before it was over.
Soon, Capital University sent a second candidate. To everyone's surprise, it was the female cardmaker. Her name flashed on the big screen: Charlotte.
Charlotte came to the sidelines and first glanced at Russell not far away, then released her own cards. Unlike the previous time when facing a weak team, she obviously did not hold back this time.
The Northgate team had not been idle during the off-season. They had tried every possible means to collect card information on their opponents' trump cards. For example, they knew the name of the muscular man she had been riding: [Hercules, the Muscle Warrior].
However, they didn't know about the feminine-looking man standing next to Hercules. It was obvious that this was a new card made by Charlotte. In addition, there was a shadow of a circular building flashing behind it. By the time the national competition came around, although Field Cards were still rare, Russell was not the only one who had them. It was just that the quality varied. The quality of a Field Card depended on the card it was associated with.
Fortunately, since Capital University had also had practice matches with other schools, the people from Northgate had some understanding of the name and ability of this Field Card. [The Bloody Arena]. Its silver-level ability was probably to enhance the recovery of the cards on the field.
At this moment, a look of confidence in victory appeared on Charlotte's face. Following the referee's order, the feminine-looking man in the field instantly stretched out his right hand and cut open Hercules' back. The splattered blood formed a magic circle on the ground.
"Not good!" Lucian's heart sank; the actions of the opponent's two cards were completely beyond his expectations. But there was no point in saying more right now. It would be worth it as long as he could help Russell get some information.
The dazzling lightning reached Hercules almost instantly. However, the next moment, a bright blood-light rose from the ground, blocking the attack and also blocking the vision of everyone present. The dark waves continuously surged towards the blood-colored magic circle, and the lightning spear in the hand of the young man in black armor struck like a dragon. In the attack that was powerful enough to tear the ground apart, blood flashed continuously.
Finally, under the unremitting attack of Lucian's cards, the blood-colored magic circle gradually dimmed. But just as Lucian was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he was shocked speechless by the following scene.
Hercules' skin all over his body turned scarlet, as if a torrent of blood was rushing under his skin. And this was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that the originally feminine young man now only had his upper body sewn to Hercules' back, with his eyes slightly closed as if he was asleep.
Under everyone's gaze, a bloodthirsty arc appeared at the corner of Hercules' mouth. "Just like that! Look at me!" An excited roar sounded, and Hercules' aura became stronger.
The next moment, a giant red hand grabbed Lucian's black-armored young man's head and slammed it into the ground.
BOOM!
Facing such a horrifying scene, Lucian finally calmed down. The endless black mud instantly turned into a sharp blade and cut off Hercules' right hand. Freed from the restraints, the young man in black armor quickly stepped back. But the next scene made everyone choke. As the feminine young man opened his eyes, Hercules' originally broken right arm was restored to its original state in a flash of blood.
The next moment, the scarlet figure appeared again in front of the young man in black armor. But this time, Lucian's cards had no ability to resist. After his main card disappeared into the air, his remaining two cards naturally had no room to fight back.
He returned to Russell and the other three with a wry smile on his face. "I didn't expect the other side to send out their trump card directly."
"Lucian, you are already very strong," Yuna said gently, holding his hand.
Grant couldn't bear to see the young couple being so affectionate, so he stood up immediately. "Then I'll go next."
Just as he was about to go on stage, a hand was placed on his shoulder. "Let me go first," Russell said. "I have seen through the opponent's cards."
After saying this, he walked to the sidelines, leaving the Northgate crowd bewildered.
Charlotte was obviously a little surprised that Russell would appear at this time. "Are you the second one to appear?" Russell nodded. "I will take over the next game." Hearing this, Charlotte raised her slender eyebrows slightly. "You are quite confident. But now that it has come to this, I will not lose!"
Russell smiled but did not respond. He had mastered the winning formula.
His appearance undoubtedly caused a huge response. Amidst the thunderous cheers, he summoned his own cards. Fubuki, Artoria, Unohana Retsu, Neliel.
And a black-haired boy who had never appeared before.
Almost exactly one-thousandth of a millisecond after the referee's whistle sounded, the black-haired boy's cold voice reached everyone's ears.
"Amaterasu."
(End of this chapter)
BONUS CHAPTER SYSTEM IS BACK
300 , 500 , 1000 Each milestone will have 1 Bonus chapter.