As a matter of fact, Ma Xiaoru wasn’t the main reason for what happened between Wang Tong and Samantha. After all, Samantha had her own career goals and ambition which she would never give up, while Wang Tong also had his own path to pursue that he wouldn’t give up. Not to mention he would never get Samantha involved in the mysteries and secrets that had been burdening him for years.
In short, both Wang Tong and Samantha would never choose to give up for the sake of each other, which was why they were not destined to be together.
Wang Tong was more mature than he looked. After all, he had really been through a lot since the day he met Old Fart. Hence, Wang Tong didn’t complain or blame Samantha for it. At least he knew that Samantha had never treated him like an expendable pawn.
"Wang Tong, as ordered by the military, you’ll be assigned to the Ground Forces on Norton. But before that, I want to ask you… Is this your real intention, or are you doing this for me?"
"A bit of both I guess. But since the order has been given out, I’m willing to go."
"Actually, I never submitted your application form, yet your name still appeared in the military order. I have no idea if it is a chance for you to succeed, or a setup. After all, Norton is an extremely dangerous place as you know." Samantha said.
The first thing that popped into Wang Tong’s mind was Li Ruo-Er, but still, he was very grateful for Samantha’s warning. Someone had obviously gone through a lot of trouble to put Wang Tong into this situation. Either the person was trying to observe him or using this as a chance to eliminate him for good.
Wang Tong was well aware that he had offended Li Ruo-Er on many occasions, and the infuriated little enchantress would do anything to make him suffer and burn.
"Don’t worry, I’m very familiar with Norton’s environment. To me, this seems more like an opportunity to succeed, making me one step closer to become a Battlecraft Commander. Relax, it’ll be a piece of cake for me." Wang Tong smiled and replied with confidence.
If this really were Li Ruo-Er’s plot, then it would be best for him to go, because he was worried that it would cause people around him to be involved in the mess between him and Li Ruo-Er if he chose to stay at Ayrlarng. Anyway, Wang Tong doubted that Li Ruo-Er would be able to turn his life into a living hell, because to him, Norton was just a walk in the park!
To Wang Tong, the planet was just like a child’s theme park filled with creepy crawlies, not to mention he still had Einherjar Wannabe by his side. Although he was only able to equip the METAL Suit for a short period of time, still it would be more than enough for him to escape.
"Are you sure?"
"Don’t worry, I’ll come back in one piece!"
Both Wang Tong and Samantha stared at each other in silence. Honestly, Wang Tong was the only person that had ever seen the gentle side of Samantha. He was certain that after they bid farewell, Samantha would have no problem in doing her part as Ayrlarng’s multitasking principal. However, he couldn’t help wondering what was in front of him…
Still, Wang Tong believed that this was a good opportunity for both of them to prove themselves to each other. Who knew, maybe there was a chance that they could get back together if they succeeded. Even if they really couldn’t get back together, the sweet memories they had together was already more than enough for Wang Tong.
Both of them officially engaged in their own "quests" the moment Wang Tong closed the door of Samantha’s office…
The members of "S" Society decided to throw Carl, Rumi and the others who were going to Norton a farewell party on Friday afternoon. After all, they all deserved to enjoy themselves before exposing themselves to the unknown dangers that were lurking on Norton.
Hu Yangxuan even sang them a song with his passionate vocals. In the end, the mic hog was kicked off the sta
ge because he had sung too many songs.
As for Wang Tong’s team, they were scheduled to leave within the week after Carl’s team departed. The military didn’t inform them about the exact time of departure, but they were told to get packed and standby.
As always, Ayrlarng’s students would be the last to leave.
Saturday seemed a lot more quiet than usual. Aside from the excitement, everyone also began to worry about the challenges ahead. After all, they knew nothing about Norton aside from some basic information mentioned in the overall data.
Wang Tong had nothing much to prepare this time, since he knew that it would never be worse than his previous experiences. Wang Tong was feeling a different kind of excitement, yet he wasn’t too bothered by it, and carried on with his regular workouts instead.
The increase in Soul Energy had given Wang Tong a lot more benefits as soon as he became a Level Five Fighter. Aside from his Soul Energy, Wang Tong could also tell that the circulation of his Cinnabar Field had improved as well, even though the improvement couldn’t be reflected in his Soul Energy. Yet, something was telling Wang Tong that the improvement of his Cinnabar Field was far greater than his EMF. Hence, he was really looking forward to tonight’s battle!
Wang Tong visited DREAM Heaven after dinner, and it seemed like the shopkeeper had told his staff to treat Wang Tong nicely. The business of the shop seemed great as it was already jam-packed with players before Wang Tong arrived. Obviously, everyone was agitated about the biggest fight of the weekend.
Tonight, Einherjar Wannabe would be challenged by Lie Wushuang, a Level Five Fighter who was also one of House of Lie’s direct descendants. Being a Fourth Grader in Academy of the Deity, Lie Wushuang was a super experienced fighter, and his Soul Energy was off the chart. If it weren’t because of Lie Kent’s order, Lie Wushuang would never show up in PA. Nevertheless, it couldn’t be helped; unlike the other four Great Houses, the successor of House of Lie loved to live under the spotlight.
Many even used all sorts of illegal methods to watch the live stream of this anticipated brawl. But surprisingly, the government didn’t interfere this time, partially because they were afraid of offending the powerful House of Lie.
The government decided to stay out of this. After all, DREAM would be the only one that would be held responsible if there were any problem.
People of the other planets might have never heard of the name Lie Wushuang, but this top descendent of House of Lie was extremely popular in Academy of the Deity, and was being idolized by the younger generations of Martians.
Church of the Deity’s Cardinal had the Four Fencers by his side, while Lie Kent was always accompanied by the Ferocious Five, and Lie Wushuang was one of them. It seemed like Mars was the only planet that could accept religious governance and dictatorship of one family, as these methods would never be accepted by the people of Moon and Earth. Even the religion of Blade Warrior himself (later known as Court of the Templar) had no such influence at all. And as time went by, Court of the Templar seemed to have become less famous than it used to be. Court of the Templar might be based on Earth, yet their "shadows" could still be found across Moon. Ever since Blade Warrior established the rule that prohibited Ivantians from interfering in Court of the Templar, the latter then developed into a non-political society that focused only on nurturing elite fighters as well as strengthening the basics of the talented ones. Aside from that, they also served as the guardians of the mysterious Hall of Valhalla.
However, Court of the Templar was not that popular at Mars, as Church of the Deity and House of Lie had rooted deeply into the hearts of fellow Martians. In Mars, Church of the Deity was the one who nurtured young elites, and surprisingly they were able to cooperate perfectly with House of Lie, thus creating the current political overview.
As a matter of fact, fellow Martians were pretty embarrassed over Hwo Quan’s defeat, yet their confidence rose again as Lie Kent had decided to send in one of his strongest sidekicks to challenge Einherjar Wannabe, and everyone was fairly excited about it.
The hype was even bigger on Earth. Fights like this had caused the number of players logging into PA skyrocket, and helped DREAM’s share price increase significantly by three percent, big enough to make their rival companies extremely jealous.
The other reason behind the increase of DREAM’s share price was actually the recent performance of Ayrlarng. Apparently, Samantha, who was Ayrlarng’s principal as well as the biggest shareholder and future successor of DREAM, had been doing an excellent job. In fact, she had even surprised a lot of experts with her intelligence, proving her abilities in multitasking and juggling between a military academy and a multi-million corporation. However, some did sense a deeper meaning in the CEO of DREAM’s decision of letting her daughter take over the administration of a military academy. After going downhill for a long period of time, DREAM had finally caught the attention of many people recently.
The founder of DREAM, President Galber, was known as the right-hand man of the legendary General Li Feng, as well as the only one who spoke on the Blade Warrior’s behalf. This unique identity had granted the Galber family a well-deserved position in the history.
As for Cameron, he had been busying with his preparations for the match, while being closely monitored by the board of directors. Although the workload had increased a lot, his staff members were pretty excited about the fact that the number of players had broken the record of PA since it began.
Nevertheless, breaking the record itself wasn’t enough at all. Honestly, more people were looking forward to see the rise of the next Blade Warrior. But sadly, Einherjar Wannabe was not as God-like as the legendary Blade Warrior. Apparently, Einherjar Wannabe still hadn’t demonstrated his ultimate uniqueness!
Miracles only happened once in a blue moon, and as of today, there were only four divine existences that were closest to God being known by men, namely Buddha Sakyamuni, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed and the Blade Warrior…
Wang Tong then proceeded to his usual room, and this time, both Mr. Einherjar Wannabe and Charcoal would be joining the audiences. Apparently, Charcoal was very excited about the upcoming battle.
Unlike Lie Kent, Lie Wushuang behaved more like a soldier. He showed no interest in whatever interviews, and all he cared about was to fulfill Lie Kent’s order.
Both fighters remained silent as the crowd went wild. Most of the audiences were Earthling and Ivantian students from various academies. It seemed like the students were here to observe and study Einherjar Wannabe, probably hoping to find his weaknesses.
As promised, the battle would begin at 2000 hours sharp.
Both players then entered the battle ring. Einherjar Wannabe requested for the realistic level being adjusted to one hundred and twenty percent. On the other hand, Lie Wushuang requested for the ring temperature being adjusted to forty degree celsius.
It was known that Martians had better adaptation than Earthlings and Ivantians. Although Mars had been developed into a liveable planet, it’s environment was still not as perfect compared to the natural Earth and synthetic Moon.