Instantly, the whole canteen fell silent. Some people had started to pre-emptively move the benches away. It seemed as though the situation was escalating into a fight.
At this moment, Zhang Shan stood out with a crash. “Hey, you sure have a big mouth. How come your results are so poor, huh? All talk, no action.”
The moment his words rang out, Atos flew out of his seat with a clatter. He had been waiting for Zhang Shan to rise up and had been holding in his strength. He immediately used his Ability X and, in the blink of an eye, appeared before Zhang Shan.
In that instant, Zhang Shan felt a sharp, oppressive force rush towards him.
Atos was not one who could take insults. He understood how it was going to play out. Did Qiu Si think he could hold him in line with his heavy-handed cancelling of Lie Xin and Achilles’ leadership status? Really? Were the Mars and Moon factions going to continue to take this lying down? Besides, he hated the mundane training. They could go on without him.
He might as well go out with a bang and give Zhang Shan a good beating. He wanted to see if they would really disqualify the whole lot of them.
If the Solar System wanted to make a name for itself in IG, they needed Achilles and the Eight Stars. No one else could do it.
BANG…
Zhang Shan did not see it coming clearly, but he felt a fiery, stinging pain. Atos’ ability, superspeed! This was why he was part of the team – it was an important ability.
In that instant, he slapped Zhang Shan in the face and followed it with a kick that sent Zhang Shan flying back.
BANG! In an instant, Zhang Shan’s fire had been lit. Military rules and discipline had vanished. There was only one thought in his mind: f*ck him!
BANG. Zhang Shan pounced forward, a hand outstretched towards Atos.
Atos looked at him with contempt. That kind of speed? Even a tortoise crawled faster.
Yet at this time, Zhang Shan’s body distorted violently and he disappeared.
Displacement, but what would be the most advantageous location he would appear at?
He activated his superspeed once again. In the same instant, Zhang Shan leaped down from mid-air, towards what would have been Atos’ back. Yet in that moment, Atos had already circled behind Zhang Shan again.
In a straight fight, Atos’ ability trumped Zhang Shan’s. Furthermore, Zhang Shan’s ability use was still not fully mature, and he immediately suffered a couple of kicks. Atos was purposely humiliating Zhang Shan, and he sent another slap whistling towards his face.
In that instant, a figure exploded over like a hurricane, sweeping Atos away.
Zhang Runan!
“I’ll even fight you with one hand, you flea,” Zhang Runan stated coldly.
There was no movement from the Moon faction, and Taros stood up. “Unfair numbers? You gotta run that past me first.”
As he spoke, Taros made his move with no intention of hearing anybody out.
BANG. Someone at Taros’ level could stand against Zhang Runan even without Ability X. At this moment, his eyes flashed, clearly using his Ability X. He appeared in front of Zhang Runan, clamping down on her shoulder, but a huge wave of force roiled up at him.
BANG…
Zhang Runan had lashed out with a foot and Taros had fallen. He had not anticipated that. Her ability was not rigid but fairly adaptable and flexible.
Atos had already leaped for the unprotected back of Zhang Runan’s head when a huge force came his way. BANG…
Atos was kicked away, flying over 10 meters and slamming into the wall.
Wang Zheng had intervened.
“Atos, you backstabber. If you want to die, just say the word.”
Fighting was no big deal, especially in military school. Unhappiness was settled with a quick scuffle, but Atos had no boundaries.
Achilles blocked his way with a cold smile. “Wang Zheng, you talk too much.”
As he spoke, an enormous wave of energy shrouded the entire place. Achilles had made his move.
Atos crawled up from the ground, wiping blood from his mouth. “Boss, if you want to be the gentleman, you gotta choose carefully as well. This bunch of trash are only fit to be slaves. Benevolent leadership be damned, the victor is the king. Whoever is strongest should be the leader. These Earthlings only know how to play dirty, but they are weak!”
“Atos, you can eat rubbish, but don’t talk rubbish. If you’re not convinced, I’ll beat you with both hands tied behind my back,” Lear said.
“Boss, you need not concern yourself with trash like this. I’ll clean it up with a few moves.” Luo Fei loved hitting someone when they were already down.
As they spoke, Atos’ eyes gleamed again. His Ability X reached a peak, and he rushed towards Wang Zheng, stabbing towards his eyes.
Ching…
His profile was frozen. Atos’ fingers had been pincered by Wang Zheng. The speed of the attack confounded the eye, and the onlookers could not clearly catch what was going on, yet Wang Zheng had accurately blocked it.
Crack.
With an anguished scream, Atos’ two fingers had been snapped.
Wang Zheng patted Atos on the cheek lightly. “Boy, it’s dangerous to play with fingers.”
He then threw Atos away, completely ignoring the Moon crowd. No one expected such ruthlessness from Wang Zheng. Although Atos played rough, in consideration of Achilles, nobody dared to go too overboard.
“Impressive. You’ve been holding back on us. Looks like I really have to experience it for myself,” Achilles said coolly. Clearly the Sun God was starting to get angry.
Achilles was more serious than they had ever seen him before. He took a deep breath. Taros was right. These were not Moon people, and he had clearly been using the wrong approach. In that case, it was time to show them the stick instead of the carrot.
Masasi shook his head. He had wanted to intervene before, but things had now come to a stage out of his control.
Wang Zheng smiled. “The esteemed name of the Sun God. But the name isn’t too good. The sun means ri… are you telling others that you’re qian ri?” [T/N ri literally mean day, but also a slang for f*cking, and qian ri is an insult, asking to be f*cked]
Zhang Shan’s eyes gleamed. He clenched his fists and moved up wordlessly to back Wang Zheng up. Meng Tian also moved up quietly. The temperature of the place was rapidly dropping.
Lie Xin clapped her hands. “Achilles, your guy was too dirty. He holds nothing back in his insults and doesn’t fight head on. Besides, a couple of blows would be harmless enough, but to gouge at the eyes is really too much, isn’t it?”
Raston lazily shrugged his shoulders. “Looks like there aren’t too many gentlemen on the Moon these days.”
In a short while, Lie Xin had made up her mind. This was no time to sit back and hope they would destroy each other. If she finished Achilles now, she would be number one.
Achilles stared at Lie Xin with a cruel smile. “I, and only I, can lead the Solar System Federation to break out of the cycle. It seems like I’ve mollycoddled you all for too long.”
“On Mars, those that brag so much normally see their teeth punched out.” Lie Xin stood up with an evil grin.
Achilles’ eyes suddenly exploded with silver moonlight. What a fearsome spirit!
His unfathomable strength became a revolution of energy that permeated the entire space. Pressure like a huge mountain bore down on everybody’s bodies, and they could not move!