Chapter 14: The Most Annoying Pretentious Person
Page 1 of 3
The rain grew heavier, striking her skin with an increasingly刺激ating burn.
Jiang Tang had no choice but to tear down a section of the door and use it as a shield.
Standing atop the roof, she stared toward the distant coast. A colossal curtain of water came crashing down upon the shore, bringing with it an army of aberrant creatures.
They were quieter now, disciplined and orderly. With the appearance of marine life and humanoid limbs, they merged seamlessly into the darkness.
Yet after coming ashore, they did not hurry to attack the town. Instead, they gathered along the coastline and silently watched the sea, which had once again returned to calm.
Amid the noisy downpour came a nearly inaudible groan.
Jiang Tang had no intention of meddling, but her ears twitched, and a smile touched her lips.
She crept over without a sound. When she landed on the eaves, not even the slightest noise escaped her.
In the alley, a tall blond man was gripping a blond girl by the hair and repeatedly smashing her head against the wall.
He controlled his strength precisely, keeping it within the range of agonizing pain without immediately killing her.
Gu Xue leaned against the wall and urged him impatiently, “How much longer are you going to play? Jiang Tang, that bastard, has knocked us out of our rankings!”
She seemed to possess some ability that kept the rain away. Her clothes remained dry, not a single strand of hair wet—a stark contrast to Jiang Tang’s miserable state.
The veins stood out on Arthur’s hand. Gripping the back of the girl’s head, he slammed it against the wall again. This blow was more vicious than any before it, delivered with the clear intent to kill.
In the silent, rain-soaked alley, a bone-chilling crack rang out.
The girl collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Her once-brilliant blond hair lay soaking in the muddy water, while her sapphire eyes brimmed with hatred as they fixed upon the man.
Arthur elegantly wiped his hands clean. “My apologies. It has been so long since I last disciplined Lilia that I became overly enthusiastic.”
Gu Xue cast a disdainful glance at the girl on the ground. “Your sister really can take a beating. Now hurry up and clean up the loose end.”
Arthur smiled helplessly. “Such an impatient princess.”
A flash of golden light appeared in his hand, and a sharp knight’s sword materialized from thin air.
He grasped the sword in both hands and spoke gently. “Lilia, next time you see your brother, kneel and greet him properly. Do you understand? Now close your eyes…”
But Lilia stubbornly stared at Arthur and shakily raised her middle finger.
With a vicious expression, Gu Xue continued, “Enough nonsense! Use your terrain advantage and find Jiang Tang at once. I want her to—”
A dark look flashed through Arthur’s eyes. As he swung down the knight’s sword, it tore through the air with a shrill whistle.
“Want me to do what?”
A section of door came hurtling through the air. Arthur cleaved it in two with a single stroke, never expecting Jiang Tang to be hiding behind it.
Jiang Tang smiled at him and swung her long staff heavily into his face. A sickening crunch immediately followed.
Arthur staggered back two steps. Lowering his head, he covered his face, yet his dark blue eyes remained fixed on Jiang Tang. Blood seeped between his fingers.
Page 1 of 3
Page 2 of 3
Jiang Tang balanced the staff on her shoulder and lightly tapped her neck. “I keep my promises. I’ve come to kill you!”
Gu Xue stared at Jiang Tang’s sudden appearance, shocked and furious, with an indescribable trace of fear beneath it. But after glancing at Arthur, she quickly regained her composure.
She sneered. “All that bluster, and you’re not afraid of throwing out your back? Do you really think you alone can defeat two of the top five?”
At Nebula Academy, teachers referred to the rankings by grade placement. Among the students, however, the top ten had their own designation: the Ten Seats.
“What’s with all this talk of seats? I’m pretty good at opening seats. Besides, who said I was alone?”
Jiang Tang nudged Lilia’s prone body behind her with her heel. “Stop sleeping and get up to fight. How can someone your age sleep at a time like this?”
Lilia was the desk mate who had lent her a razor for trimming her eyebrows.
Using the wall for support, Lilia struggled to stand. Both legs trembled, and her blond hair clung wetly to her body. Yet somehow, she now held a knight’s sword as well. She raised her middle finger toward Arthur and shouted, “To hell with your father! My girl’s here now. You’re all going to regret this!”
The corner of Jiang Tang’s eye twitched. She murmured, “That’s quite the attitude.”
Lilia rolled her eyes and pointed viciously at Arthur. “Beat him to death! I don’t want the eight thousand anymore—you don’t have to repay it. I’ll give you another ten thousand!”
Jiang Tang narrowed her eyes. “Then I suppose I have no choice but to do this.”
Across from them, Gu Xue had already summoned a giant eagle and a staff.
The falling rain instantly transformed into shards of ice.
Fighting in the rain was an advantage for Gu Xue.
With a gentle wave of her staff, Gu Xue froze Jiang Tang’s feet in an instant.
Arthur immediately charged in with his sword. Jiang Tang raised her staff to block him. Sparks burst from the collision of their weapons, and with a powerful thrust of her arms, she sent Arthur flying.
Behind her, Lilia hurriedly traced something across Jiang Tang’s waist. Warmth immediately returned to Jiang Tang’s body, and even her combat uniform dried in the blink of an eye.
Lilia also provided her with a barrier that kept out the rain.
“Be careful. That woman’s staff may only be a bronze card, but it has runes carved into it, giving it power comparable to a silver card. My magical aptitude is ordinary, so all I can do is keep the rain off you.”
“That’s enough.”
The ice beneath her feet melted, and Jiang Tang charged forward at once. She nimbly dodged the ice spikes spat out by the giant eagle, then slid past Arthur in a low tackle, heading straight for Gu Xue’s throat.
Jiang Tang came at her like a storm. Gu Xue failed to react in time and retreated in panic, but she was still too slow. Seeing Jiang Tang about to reach her, she cried, “Arthur!”
At the same time, she instinctively raised her staff horizontally to defend herself.
Jiang Tang broke the staff in half with a blow to the waist, but a rapidly approaching golden light stabbed at her eyes. Even before it reached her, she could already sense the overwhelming force it contained.
There was no way to dodge this attack.
“Jiang Tang!” Lilia shouted anxiously.
Jiang Tang silently cried out as well: “Great Sage, save me!”
[The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, weakened version, has possessed you.]
[Current mental strength: 2/20]
Page 2 of 3
Page 3 of 3
Her mental strength bottomed out in an instant.
The golden light dispersed. Jiang Tang stood unharmed where she was, though her long staff had broken into two pieces. Flecks of shattered gold drifted through her eyes as she stared coldly at Arthur.
Arthur looked faintly surprised and tightened his grip on the sword.
His sword was a gold card, once wielded by Lancelot of the Knights of the Round Table. Even an ordinary Class A cardmaster might not survive that strike.
Seeing that Jiang Tang was uninjured, Lilia’s heart, which had leapt into her throat, immediately settled back into place. She was about to rush over when a long crystal arrow radiating biting cold blocked her path.
At some point, Gu Xue had summoned Skadi, the goddess of winter. This time, the arrow flew considerably faster.
She nocked another arrow onto her longbow, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. “Jiang Tang, can you still escape?”
The giant eagle circling overhead dove toward Jiang Tang.
“You people really do talk like characters from a childish fantasy drama.”
Jiang Tang smiled as well. The muscles in her arm tensed, and she hurled one half of the long staff into the air. It pierced straight through the giant eagle’s skull.
The eagle let out a shriek before transforming into ice crystals and scattering.
Gu Xue’s face turned pale. With her summoned creature destroyed, she had to bear the backlash as its user. She was already at the end of her strength.
“Arthur, what are you waiting for? Eliminate her!” Gu Xue shouted furiously.
Arthur remained silent.
Unlike that fool Gu Xue, he could read the situation clearly.
The attack that had just shattered the giant eagle had appeared ordinary, but he had no confidence that he could withstand it.
“Miss, perhaps we could discuss this.”
Arthur’s only goal had ever been to take first place, so he immediately dropped to his knees and surrendered.
“The boss is about to appear. Why don’t we suspend hostilities for now and take it down together?”
Gu Xue’s expression twisted. She spat two words through clenched teeth.
“Arthur…”
Jiang Tang weighed the broken half of her staff in her hand and smiled. “I hate people who put on airs.”
[Your mental strength is about to reach zero. Complete the battle within ten minutes!]
[9:59]
Page 3 of 3