47 47

Cold broadcast messages echoed continuously across the sky.

"A Silver Star student has been eliminated, a Silver Star student has been eliminated."

In the distance, the students watching beneath the weather shield felt their hearts leap into their throats.

Xiao Hua was by far the most anxious. Strictly speaking, he was considered an upper-classman, which disqualified him from participating in this inter-school confrontation, leaving him trapped on the outside with nothing to do but watch in frustration.

The cheering on the forum gradually died down, replaced by a growing anxiety regarding the battle's progress.

"What is going on? We were leading the whole way, how did things suddenly turn around?"

"Yeah, I had this smug smile on my face the whole time, listening to our Silver Star freshmen continuously wiping out the military academy students, and then we get hit with a wave like this."

Even the command room began to buzz with discussion.

"Silver Star's localized breakthroughs and feints were handled quite well just now. The military academy's prompt abandonment of their position and rallying of troops for a fierce counter-offensive was equally decisive. It seems the freshman commanders from both schools this year really know what they're doing."

Wei Wenwei set down his tea cup. "If I recall correctly, Silver Star's commander this year is the little imperial grandson? Ah, I'd only heard previously that this highness had issues with his mimicry, didn't expect him to possess such talent."

"Silver Star's crop this year is indeed quite impressive," Niu Hu remarked with a sigh. "During military training, there was a freshman who appeared to be from a traditional martial arts family. The moment I watched her perform that set of military boxing right there on the spot, I knew there was nothing left for me to teach her."

"Is that so?" Wei Wenwei's interest was evidently piqued.

Looking past the screen, Feng Bai's gaze met Feng Yuanming's.

The former immediately and smoothly changed the subject. "Now that the military academy has discovered Silver Star's stronghold, I'm afraid Silver Star is going to take heavy losses in this next wave."

By the time Yuan Hanshuang and her elite squad rushed back to their position, the Imperial Academy's offensive against one of the strongholds had already concluded. While retreating and buying time to let their skills cool down, they temporarily entered a truce period.

Yet, Silver Star had also paid a staggering price.

Out of a large stronghold of five hundred people, barely half managed to retreat successfully. This was only the number achieved after Xuan Yuanzheng made the resolute decision to cut off their tail to ensure survival.

In a mere ten minutes, the brief advantage Silver Star had painstakingly built through feints and guerrilla warfare was completely squandered. On the scoreboard, the elimination counts for both sides were nearly even.

"We cannot go on like this."

Xuan Yuanzheng shook his head, unable to hide the worry in his expression. "I don't know what's gotten into the Imperial Academy; their style suddenly shifted from conservative to offensive. Coupled with the fact that our previous guerrilla warfare has made them vigilant, intelligence gathered by scouts shows that the military academy students have now assembled their main combat force and even voluntarily abandoned a portion of their teaching building stronghold."

"With their main force fully assembled like this, we must absolutely avoid direct head-on collisions with them."

Everyone understood the logic. But the military academy students were no fools; given enough time, they would inevitably find a way to force a team fight. The longer it dragged on, the more Silver Star would be depleted once the enemy's skills finished cooling down and they regrouped for another assault.

Silver Star students stood damply in the corridor, keeping a sharp eye on the torrential rain outside.

Noticing that the heavy blow they had just suffered was causing the morale of his side to gradually sink, Xuan Yuanzheng began to exercise his innate talent for boosting morale, walking among the wounded to inquire closely and offer low-voiced encouragement.

"Our team has not fallen into a desperate situation; we still have hope!"

"Shall we not avenge the teammates who just sacrificed themselves?! This fury demands blood for blood from the Imperial Academy!"

With just a few words, the lingering dejection transformed once more into exhilaration.

"Actually, I have an idea." Watching the reinvigorated freshmen, Yuan Hanshuang walked up to Xuan Yuanzheng. "When I was withdrawing from the central teaching building just now, I confirmed there were only about ten students left behind on the fifth floor. Including their main commander, there should be nine."

Xuan Yuanzheng's eyes widened. "You mean to..."

"Exactly." Yuan Hanshuang nodded. "Those nine left behind are undoubtedly the cream of their crop, but they are definitely not offensive powerhouses. The Imperial Academy exploited our habitual thinking."

"First of all, the one they chose is a half-step fifth-order melee-type lead student. Even without synchronizing mimicry, almost no one can wrest a badge from Bian Yu's hands. In this scenario, if you were the Imperial Academy's main commander, would you station your most powerful attacker to guard the stairwell? Not necessarily, because an attacker only yields maximum returns when placed in a position to pursue the enemy. Given the current situation, leaving only the strongest defender on the fifth floor is more than sufficient."

Xuan Yuanzheng grasped her meaning. "You want to take a gamble?"

"Yes, I can lead a squad to try it." Yuan Hanshuang pressed her knuckles together, turning back to look at him. "The battle has reached an impasse. Both of us know that playing it safe offers too little chance of victory. To win, we have to resort to a risky move!"

Two pairs of eyes locked onto one another.

In their synchronized state, Yuan Hanshuang's eyes were red, while Xuan Yuanzheng's eyes were crimson-gold tinged with a faint, underlying red. Both could clearly see the thirst for victory burning in the other's gaze.

"I know, but as the commander, I must be responsible for my team members."

Suppressing the restless urge in his heart, Xuan Yuanzheng picked up the radio and informed everyone of the situation.

Over the public channel, he detailed the pros and cons: "The Imperial Academy should have tight defenses around the central teaching building right now. If we want to launch a sneak attack, everyone else will have to bear the firepower of the empire's main forces to buy an opportunity for the elite squad to enter the building, and we must drag out the time as much as possible."

One could easily imagine how difficult such a task would be.

Yet Silver Star's radio channel did not fall into the expected silence; the freshmen chimed in one after another, vying to speak.

"Isn't it just stalling for time? What's so hard about that!"

"Exactly, if all else fails, we support types still have that skill we discussed earlier. The moment they're about to catch up to us, we'll abandon the chariot to save the general—throw me right in the middle of the road, and I'll cling to the thighs of those military academy students for dear life to buy time!"

"That's right, don't worry, classmate Yuan. Even if it kills us, we'll drag things out until your home-raid is a success!"

"Go ahead! Leave the stalling to us!"

Hearing these eager voices, Xuan Yuanzheng's chest rose and fell.

In an instant, an overwhelming sense of collective honor enveloped everyone.

"Alright!" He clenched his fist tightly, his voice laden with resolve.

"Classmate Yuan, I'm afraid I must leave this to you."

However, when turning back to consult with Yuan Hanshuang, Xuan Yuanzheng still hesitated for a long time. "I am the overall commander; I cannot participate in an assassination mission with such extreme risks. If the entire vanguard is wiped out, Silver Star will collapse directly without a fight."

"I can't go either," interjected Xia Mengrou, who was busy wringing the water out of her hair nearby. "Since the objective is to stall for time, my hypnotic powder has an area-of-effect capability, which will be just right for dealing with the Imperial Academy's pursuit."

"It's fine, I can just take Ke Junnda and a few defensive types with taunt skills," Yuan Hanshuang had already made up her mind. "Wu Haoxuan, you stay here as well; your skills aren't suited for breaking through lines."

"Sigh, if that's the case, didn't all the time we spent forming and training our squad go to waste?"

Wu Haoxuan looked distressed. "The boss is going on an assassination mission alone, and none of us can help her."

"How can you call that a waste?" Xuan Yuanzheng patted his shoulder. "Only once our coordination is cultivated can we lead other freshmen to cooperate with one another. Besides, buying time for classmate Yuan is helping. Alright, we still have a tough battle to fight ahead. It's time to verify the results of our training and see how well we can coordinate. Let's move out."

"Oh? Silver Star has a new counter-strategy as well."

Instructor Ma happened to be paying attention to this holographic screen. "It looks like they want to implement a vanguard tactic, striking straight at the dragon's head in an attempt to capture the Imperial Academy's badges."

"The highest-ranking Silver Star freshman is only at the early fourth order, yet they're attempting a vanguard tactic? What do they have to fight Bian Yu with?"

Bian Yu was his proudest pupil, and Gu Nong couldn't help but sneer. "Not to mention lagging behind by a full three minor tiers, Bian Yu has already touched the threshold of the fifth order. Even without synchronizing his mimicry, he can beat mere early fourth-orders flat on the ground."

Whenever Gu Nong spoke, Zuo Zitao felt like disregarding his aging lower back to land a couple of solid punches on the guy.

Yet no matter how annoying it was to hear, he had to admit that while the words were crude, the reasoning was sound.

Elsewhere, the members of Silver Star had already silently begun executing their plan.

They dispatched an agile-type student with a gale-finch mimicry. After casting numerous buff statuses on him, they sent him to swagger around in front of the military academy's main force, hurling insults along the way: "Ha! You guys at the Imperial Academy are all trash! Hear that? I mean to say that every single one of you sitting here is trash!"

Although the method was rather crude, it worked remarkably well on the consistently arrogant military academy freshmen.

Sure enough, the main army took the bait instantly.

While fending off the attacks, Silver Star retreated step-by-step, taking the opportunity to lure the enemy away from the vicinity of the central teaching building.

Seizing this rare opportunity, Yuan Hanshuang led three squads of defensive types to infiltrate the central teaching building once more from their previous entry point near the restrooms.

"What you need to do shortly is stall their defensive types and prevent them from coming upstairs to interfere with my battle against the badge-bearer."

"Understood!"

A full three squads of elite defensive types had drawn away the vast majority of the defensive power from Silver Star's main force.

Yuan Hanshuang knew very well that she was executing a breakthrough raid with no turning back.

If she fell here, Silver Star's main force might appear capable of continuing the fight, but in reality, it would merely be a stubborn last stand, ultimately unable to escape the fate of total defeat.

Therefore, she had to win! Winning was the only option!

Gazing at the light hanging in the stairwell, Yuan Hanshuang weighed the dagger in her hand and hurled it forward with sudden force.

The next second, the light bulb was abruptly shattered.

"Go!" she gave a low command. Like a panther lurking in the shadows, she moved without a shred of hesitation, stepping onto the smooth staircase railing and sprinting upward.

"Enemy attack!" The military academy students stationed in the stairwell spotted the anomaly immediately.

However, their suddenly darkened field of vision gave them time only to fall back and guard the intersection, protecting the commander-in-chief behind them and eradicating the Silver Star rats who dared to sneak up here.

Not a single person noticed that the defensive shields that lit up, along with increasingly flamboyant and dazzling skills, were being deliberately released toward distant areas. Meanwhile, in an unattended corner, Yuan Hanshuang hugged the shadows, employing feints to slip unnoticed into the crevice leading to the upper floor amid the chaos.

"Creeak—" The door to the tiered lecture hall was pushed slowly open.

Hearing the door open, both Bian Yu, standing in the middle of the classroom, and Lou Jia, who was buried in paperwork, instinctively looked up. The former wore a slight look of surprise, while the latter's eyes held more of a quiet understanding.

"A Silver Star freshman?" Bian Yu turned around, sizing up the twin-tailed girl who had broken through their barriers to reach the sixth floor of the teaching building.

Having fought in the torrential rain for so long, Yuan Hanshuang's current state was clearly far from pristine. Not only was she soaked through from head to toe, but with every step she took, she left a small puddle on the ground.

"I didn't expect any Silver Star students to actually make it up here. To be honest, I'm quite surprised."

Bian Yu stretched his arms, the popping of his joints audible from afar. "Well, sitting around down there unable to join the battle has been utterly boring. It's rare to get a chance to move my muscles."

"Early fourth-order. You must be that S-rank gifted freshman Silver Star recruited this year? State your name; I don't fight no-names."

Hearing him speak, Yuan Hanshuang finally shifted her gaze away from Lou Jia.

Though she didn't know why the Imperial Academy's president was present here, it was clear that the instructor panel's live broadcast screens were watching from every angle. Lou Jia could not possibly cast buff statuses on their lead student in plain view of everyone.

"It seems you've misunderstood something."

Cautiously turning back to lock the door, she immediately dismantled a pile of chairs to barricade the classroom entrance before slowly straightening up. "I'm not S-rank; I'm just a plain, unremarkable A-rank."

"Of course, ordinary A-rank though I am, it's more than enough to blow your head off."