Xing Ao angrily said, “You!” Then turned his head toward Xiu Si, “Boss, you should speak. We can’t let this little demon be our leader.”
Xiu Si had spoken, “Xing Ao, speak of this no more. A man’s worth doesn’t depend on his age. You think too little of Zhang Gong. Even if we had been prepared, we wouldn’t have been able to resist his magic. There is a gap between our strengths. If I haven’t guessed incorrectly, only with a Magister’s ability could he use such strength suppressing magic simultaneously on the three of us. Zhang Gong, you are a magister.” That last sentence was directed at me, with the tone of certainty.
I nodded. It wasn’t necessary to hide this from them.
“Fine, we will obey you. Previously I had long felt myself to be a genius. But compared to you, I am still far too lacking. I will strive much harder in the future. When I surpass you, I will take back that title.” Xiu Si said, neither humble nor arrogant. Knowing that I was a magister, neither Xing Ao nor Gao De said anything.
“Good, I will wait for you. I also hope that you accomplish this. Because from now on we are going to be comrades, and we will also be friends,” I said sincerely, gripping his hand. Although Xing Ao and Gao De’s appearances showed they still weren’t convinced, I knew that they had already accepted me in their hearts.
I scratched my head, saying, “Big Brother Xiu Si, you decide what our battle team’s name should be, is this alright?”
For the first time, Xiu Si smiled; his smile was as bright as sunlight. He said smiling, “What spell did you use a moment ago?”
“The spell I had just used was a rank 8 light spell called Brilliant Halo.”
“Then from now on our name will be the Brilliance Team.” Even now, this name receives everyone’s unanimous approval. Xiu Si gave me a feeling that his wisdom had surely outstripped his martial prowess.
Teacher Wen came out. I didn’t know if it was by chance or if it was intentional. Our problems settled, the old man’s questions arose, “It seems you are all very close. This is very good. I wish for you to later assist each other in carving out a piece of the sky for yourselves. Come over. I’ll tell you about the competition.”
We formed a semicircle around him. Teacher Wen said, “You will be facing very difficult competition. In this competition, not only will experts from Xiuda participate but a few experts from the Dalu kingdom and Aixia kingdom will also participate. For example, Zhang Gong is a person from Aixia. That is why winning the competition will be a severely difficult task.”
He paused and glanced at us before continuing, “First of all, you can compete as a group. I think you won’t have many problems with this. Everyone participating isn’t weak. In the competition, you can advance through a series of duels and also through team matches. When you come across a powerful team, I recommend you challenge them as a team because Zhang Gong can use his magic. With his powerful magic, you will be able to fully display your strength with a sure advantage. From my investigation, this competition has about 10,000 groups participating, dividing into 1,024 different branches. In each branch, every group will have to undergo ten rounds. Only the branch’s champion will advance to the next stage, the knockout competition. Then finally you will move on to the finals.
We’ve never participated in a competition such as this. Hearing that the competition had so many stages, you would need to gain at least twenty victories in the competition in order to become the champion. It was just like a marathon.
“The competition rules are very simple. All you have to do is fight on the stage. If you’re going to lose you can take the initiative to concede. Aside from the being unable to kill anyone, there are no particular restrictions. The competitors can fully display their complete strength. But I must request of you that unless you must, you mustn’t injure others. We are people that follow the path of virtue. This is the proper spirit of us, the Knights of Xiuda.”
Apart from me, the other four earnestly nodded their heads.
“Zhang Gong, in this competition, your position is extremely important. You will primarily provide assistance for everyone’s attacks. If there is a situation where you cannot assist, you should also participate in the attack. I believe that your formidable magic will give us an outstanding performance. I saw your competition a moment ago. While it is true that it is very good for everyone to learn from interaction, you mustn’t injure your allies. From now on, the captain of your team will be Zhang Gong. Xiu Si had made up his mind and I believe in his wisdom.” Teacher Wen nodded at Xiu Si.
Xiu Si did not acknowledge Teacher Wen’s praise. He had only nodded.
“There are still three days before we leave for the competition. I wish for you to properly practice cooperating with each other for the next three days. This combination of yours is very strong. Frankly, I hope that you will save this old face of mine. I also hope that in these upcoming battles your names will spread throughout the lands as brave and chivalrous.”
Together, we let out a loud, strong, and resolute replied, “We will certainly succeed.”
Like this, because of the Child of Light’s command, the first Radiant Battle Squad had been established. Later, during the Child of Light’s adventures, the formidable Radiant Battle Squad accomplished countless heroic feats.
67
Volume 3: Chapter 23 – The Grand Xiuda Tournament
Three days passed by in an instant. The Radiant Battle Squad now had a basic understanding of one another. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time for them to get to know each other better as they were forced to leave for the tournament.
The tournament was being held in Xiuda’s largest plaza. The plaza was larger than 10 football* fields combined. They had built 51 stages in the plaza long ago. Besides the stage in the center meant for the semi-finals and the finals, the rest of the stages were being used to conduct group-stage matches. After drawing lots, we were put into the 198th group while Bi Qi’s Wind Dragon Battle Squad was put into the 803rd group. We still hadn’t haven’t encountered any members of their squad.
TL Note: Real football. Not the American kind. Salty.
Wavydashen ED Note: A.K.A. “Soccer” to Americans
The five of us arrived at the stage. Everyone around the stage was part of a battle squad while spectators were located on elevated stands onat the edges outside of the stage. There were also many newly built pavilions and seats for spectators .
After looking around, I noticed that the majority of the participants were dressed like warriors while only a few people had different professions. I wore the matching uniforms of my squad, white warrior’s clothing. We planned on hiding my magic as much as possible during the preliminaries.
The tournament rules were explained by the organizers just prior to starting the tournament.. According to the lots we drew, we wouldn’t fight until the third roundmatch. Judging from their appearances, the first round battle had only ordinary warriors on both sides. The most they could manage was to simply chop at each other, as there wasn’t even a single Earth Knight participating. In the end, the winning squad won 3-2.
The second match was virtually the same. We nearly fell asleep watching these matches before the 198th group’s judge finally announced, “The third roundmatch, the Radiant Squad versus the Steel God Soldiers Squad.”
Xing Ao laughed. “Isn’t this Steel God Soldiers Squad actually just a rusty pile of iron?” We all burst into laughter in amusement. Xiu Si said to me, “To save time we’ll directly face off against the other team.”
I nodded in agreement.