The Card Apprentice

Blood sprayed out of the neck of a headless body near to Caesar. Su Hanhao’s skull dropped to the floor and rolled for a distance as his eyes bulged. He died with his eyes wide-opened.

Caesar took an unconcerned glance at Su Hanhao’s head and muttered, “You have a good son. He is much more cruel than you.”

After finishing his sentence, he leaned over and took the ‘Madman’s Eyes’ from Su Hanhao’s meter. Then, he searched for the four notebooks from his body.

“Caesar! Leave the stuff there!” Meiji shouted in anger.

Caesar made a cynical expression. He took a cold glance at Meiji and without saying anything, he leaped into the air.

Watching Caesar’s figure disappearing in the night sky, Meiji couldn’t help it but slumped to the floor, his face was pale. With blood dripping from her mouth, Baiyue glanced at Su Hanhao’s disintegrated body and shivered. Another top notched card artisan in the Heavenly Federation has fallen.

She muttered blankly, “The Desert Camp doesn’t have 7-star cards anymore.”

There were only six 7-star cards in the entire Federation and each Family owned one of the cards, symbolising their status. This was the first time one of them had lost their 7-star card.

“How can a 7-star card possesses such great power? ” Su Heiming laughed sinisterly. There was a murderous aura in his brown eyes. His tone was unusual. “Tell them the operation starts now. Leave no one alive. Oh, and for my brother, just kill him. I have nothing to ask.”

“Yes, sir!” Zhu Heng took his order.

Siam lay on a pool of blood behind Tang Hanpei without breathing.

He walked towards Tan Yumin’s room and saw You Yin standing there and his body was full of blood. Three corpses laid on the floor in front of him. “You’re brave and loyal. Good job.” He then threw a card to him, “You deserve the 6-star [Eight-Armed Dragon].”

You Yin took the card without saying a word.

In the silence of the night, he walked further in. It was a great shock to him when he saw Ji Zhihao who was lying on the floor. He approached him swiftly and leaned over to examine him. After a moment he rose and looked around with fury, “Who did this?”

You Yin felt ashamed and guilty. He said, “I have failed to block a hit from the Energy Shuttle and Mr. Ji blocked it with his body.”

Tan Yumin was grieved. She lost the sparks in her eyes while she stared at Ji Zhihao on the floor blankly.

Ji Zhihao’s look was peaceful with a smile, as if he was thinking about something happy when he died.

“Can’t believe you left me too.”

Tan Yumin’s face was as pale as paper. A trail of blood seeped from her mouth, she was on the verge of collapsing.

Tang Hanpei took a glance at Tan Yumin and touched the side of her neck with his hand and said, “She’s grieving and it might affect her body. Let’s just go.”

You Yin packed his things silently while following Tang Hanpei.

“What’s your name?” asked Tang Hanpei.

“You Yin.”

“You did very well. Would you like to be my bodyguard?”

You Yin shook his head, “There are many masters under Principal Tang’s tutor. My level is low and insignificant. Therefore, I don’t think I’m eligible for such huge responsibility. Madam is lonely and helpless. She is going through a rough time and she would need someone to take care of her.”

Tang Hanpei turned and stared at him while You Yin was calm without showing any sign of fear.

Tang Hanpei said with regret, “Since you insist, I will not pressure you any further. In the future, if Miss Yumin decided to stay in Kyoto, I’ll allow you to enrol in the Comprehensive Federation Academy in the Federation.”

“Thank you very much, Principal!” You Yin spoke in a genuine tone.

The Blood-Red Card Artisan Team headquarters.

The person with the highest position is the master of the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team, Yan Yusu. He was a card artisan with great reputation in the Federation. However, he seemed worried.

“The situation here is terrible. Five of our teams got ambushed by the enemy and five support units were eliminated. None of them made it out alive. Four of our bases were ransacked. We are now a joke in the whole Federation!” An enraged youngster was shouting indignantly.

Someone suddenly laughed, “A joke? We’re already a joke ever since the whole Blood Hammer Unit was defeated.”

The youngster suddenly went stunned and anger appeared on his face. “You tell me, what are we supposed to do then? Should we just let them be?”

“I think that we shouldn’t attack the Snow Silks Worm Card Artisan Team”, said one of them.

Yan Yusu’s expression was unpleasant. “What’s the purpose of saying all these nonsense? Why didn’t you all tell us so at that time? Hmph! Aren’t all of you busy discussing how to split the fluorescent ores? And yet all of you are giving belated advice now!”

The crowd instantly went silent.

Yan Yusu scanned through the crowd slowly and but they were too scared to look at him.

Yan Yusu humphed and looked over a middle-aged man sitting at his right. “Yizhi, you are always full of great ideas. It’s time for you to share your thoughts.”

The middle-aged man is Yang Yizhi, the most knowledgeable individual of the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team. He had great contribution in the team’s development. As a worthy member of the team, he was respected by many.

Yang Yizhi’s face was sorrowful, which was a rare sight. The crowd was starting to realise that things were getting serious and therefore, they chose to be silent.

Yang Yizhi took a sigh and said, “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting the Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team to be so powerful. I must bear half of the blame for this mistake. ”

“Yizhi’s word is wrong. All of us had agreed to his idea that time. Therefore, we have to bear the responsible for it!” Yan Yusu said unhappily.”Moreover, the question of who’s to be blamed is not the main concern now.”

“The Commander is right!”

“Indeed!”

The crowd started talking all at once.

Yang Yizhi’s expression was intense. He said slowly, “This is an unprecedented crisis since the establishment of the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team!”

Someone in the crowd started to scream in horror.

“Our enemy is different from the ones we had faced against before. We have underestimated their strength in the beginning and we are being forced to a passive situation now. Our current enemy is wise. Furthermore, the defeat of the Blood Hammer Unit had indicated that our strength has fallen to the lowest point throughout the entire history. Honestly, though I do not want to admit this, we have dropped out from the list of the most powerful card artisan teams in the Heavenly Drum Village District.”

The crowd remained silent.

“Without a doubt, our enemy must have an excellent commander! The defeat of Blood Hammer Unit and the recent ambush were all well-done and unexpected. They had even guessed correctly the specific routes of our allied forces that we are not clear of. This requires an ultimate strategic planning sense!”

“Even though our team, the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team is strong and good in battles, we are aware that we don’t have such talent in strategy planning, neither do any card artisan teams in the Heavenly Drum Village District has it. Previously, I have suspected that they were from the military.”

“The military?” Someone in the crowd gasped once again.

“The military is where these geniuses at. However, after going through consideration, I have disregarded my guess. If there were something between the Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team and the military, all they need to do is give us a warning and we would not interrupt. Yet, they were willing to give up the purple fluorescent ores. It’s clear to conclude that there was nothing between them solely based on this fact. After that, I started to think again, who would it be?” Yang Yizhi said solemnly, “Someone like that will never appeared out of the blue. After a long research, I have finally traced some clues while I waited for news from our frontline.”

Yan Yusu was curious, “Yizhi, did you find anything?”

“Does anyone remember the card artisan team called the Black Hibiscus from 10 years ago?” Yang Yizhi said slowly.

“Ah, the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team!”

“What’s that? I’ve never heard of it?”

“I thought they got completely eliminated?”

There were clearly two different types of response from the crowd. Some of them were frightened while the rest were confused. It was clear that they had never heard of the name before.

Yan Yusu’s expression was grave. He yelled with a deep voice, “How could it be them?”

Yang Yizhi shook his head, “It’s just an assumption. However, look at how the Blood Hammer Unit was defeated. Isn’t it similar to the battle where the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team became famous? Not just that, I have collected some specific information about the battle between the Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team and the Downstream Alliance and I had realised that their battle styles are highly similar to the Black Hibiscus. Moreover, the ambush of support units few days ago is one of the most remarkable tactics of the Bosnian wolf in the Black Hibiscus Card Artisans Team!”

There was total silence down there. All the elders looked worried. The younger ones also knew that the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan which they’ve never heard of must be experts.

“The absurd disappearance of the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team is still an unsolved mystery. Nobody knew what really happened to them in the past or whether they’re all dead. Of course, I cannot confirm that the Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team is the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team. All I can say is, there are many similar points between these two.” Yang Yizhi paused and said, “I suspect that the person commanding the battle is the wolf!”

“The wolf is still alive?” Cao Zhengqiu was confused.

Jie Yanbai was drinking cold water while crunching an apple which had cost him one Oudi for 10 of it. He asked with his mouth full, “Wolf? Was he a great one?”

“Yes, he was very powerful indeed! He was a person that I admired a lot!” Cao Zhengqiu grabbed an apple from Jie Yanbai’s table and started munching, “He was the commander for the card artisan team that had even won over the military.”

“Is it true? That’s awesome.” Jie Yanbai was astounded as he suddenly stopped cunching the apple in his mouth.

“Yes, he used to be my idol! There were too few battles that could be used for research back in the day. I have spent a lot of effort on that battle, I even wrote five thesis. It’s too bad that bunch of swines burned them all like waste papers.” Cao Zhengqiu said.

Jie Yanbai raised his spirit and said, “Do we have the chance to pull him over to our team?”

Cao Zhengqiu shook his head, “It is impossible if it was really him. He was skeptical towards the Great Six. It seemed like those from humble origins don’t really like the Great Six.”

“Yeah. The Great Six is corrupted.” Jie Yanbai’s words was also filled with sarcasm.

Cao Zhengqiu continued to flip the report in his hands. “Your brother went into the woods too. He had brought in so many people. What is his intention? The previous battle he had with the Big Bad Wolves was interesting.”

“The White Commander?” Jie Yanbai continued munching on his apple while shaking his head and said, “I can’t seem to read him, just like his mentor Caesar, the Deicide. Nobody can understand them. However, he would not be our enemy.”

“Our enemy?” Cao Zhengqiu adjusted his glasses and switched his focus back on the apple in his hand, “You’re right. The Comprehensive Federation Academy in the Heavenly Federation is our enemy. Tang Hanpei had obtained some great rewards this time. All four of Tan Yumin notebooks had fell

into his hands.”

Jie Yanbai stopped his hands’ movement once again, “the card appliance notebooks?”

“Yeap.” Cao Zhengqiu thought for awhile, “However, we don’t have to panic. Even if he had acquired that item, it would take a very long time for him to digest. In addition, he had got himself into big trouble this time. Publicly stealing things from the Star Academy and Bitter Solitude Temple would not bring any good to him ”

“Let them deal with the mess while we continue in our plans.” Jie Yanbai agreed as he straightened his back. The futon under him was hard as rock but he didn’t seem to be bothered by it. The Principal’s room was nothing but four walls as it was fairly empty inside. There were only a desk, a chair, an old coffee table and some futons. The luxurious items were sold off by Jie Yanbai in an auction for Oudis to be used as the institute’s development fund.

“Su Heiming is such a cruel person. He had even hurt his father”,said Cao Zhengjiu. “The Desert Camp is getting more dangerous today! Jia Yingxia had lost an enemy by killing Su Hanhao but it’s hard to say whether it’s for the better or worse. She should be having headaches now. Who would’ve thought that Su Heiming would join forces with people from the Mohadi Domain? He is indeed powerful.”

“Oh yes, those guys from the Deep had been suspended for quite some time already. What do you think about that?” Jie Yanbei asked in all seriousness.

Cao Zhengqiu shook his head, “I’ve thought about this for a long time. A cooperation would require some benefit exchange between the parties. Yet we can’t seem to be able to offer any good bargains. The people from the Deep are not doing charity with their wealth. Furthermore, what they can provide to us right now is limited. They are experts in assassination but to assassinate Tang Hanpei, it would sound impossible to them.”

“Yeah, I have the same thought.” Jie Yanbei shrugged and said reluctantly.

“Oh yeah. Are you thinking of switching your card?” Cao Zhengqiu suddenly thought of this question. “Leaving the 7-star card in the governor’s hands would be such a waste.”

Jie Yanbai shook his head, “I’ve seen the governor’s 7-star card before. It is not a battle card. Therefore, I have given it to Madam Zhi Lian.

“That’s such a waste!” Cao Zhengqiu blabbered. “The climax is around the corner. I thought you are getting another big killer weapon!”

Jie Yanbai laughed and said, “I have to learn from Senior Qiao Yuan. The [Rouged Finger] is given by my mentor, I would never changed it. Hmm, what are we supposed to do next? Chief Officer Cao, please give us an instruction.”

Cao Zhengqiu lifted his finger and looked at Jie Yanbai with all seriousness.

“Defense! Withdraw into passive defense! Our core mindset should be – we are hard tortoises!”

The principal and the director of academic affairs of the Star Academy looked at the two of them while getting headaches.

Nick was wearing a little bear pyjamas and his hair was messy. He sat there with his head tilted. His saliva dripped from his mouth and his snoring noises rose while Rossiji smiled at him. He was wearing a singlet with his body shape as big as a meat mountain.

These two were too stubborn to learn anything, which had caused others troubles in explaining anything to them.

With a soft cough, the director of academic affairs said with a stern expression. “Qing Qing had failed her mission and we are unsatisfied with her performance. We have also lost track of Chen Mu and all our clues are gone just like that. Besides, Tang Hanpei act of publicly stealing the card appliance notebooks away from Tan Yumin had caused injury to Meiji.”

Nick’s snores continued while Fatty was still smiling.

The principal and the director took a glance at each other and both of them saw the helplessness in each other’s eyes.

“Don’t you even feel like doing anything?” The director was unhappy.

The principal waved his hand, signaling the director to stop talking.

He stood up and stared at the two with his eyes as deep as the ocean.

Nick’s snore paused and the smile on Fatty’s face was a bit awkward.

“Rossiji. Did you get anything useful from the analysis you did on Chen Mu last time?” The principal’s voice was dignified.

“No.” Fatty shook his head.

The principal had stopped asking. He handed over a report to Fatty instead. Fatty didn’t take over the report but he was looking at him while smiling.

The principal was acting like he didn’t see Fatty’s look. He said directly, “You’re not concerned with the institute’s matters and that’s why you are always missing out many things. This is a report regarding the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Team. They have recently wiped out the Blood Hammer Unit from the Blood-red Card Artisan Team, and they have completed five continuous ambushes. The person doing the research on this report is Tom and I suppose you two are friends. Following his guess, the wolf from 10 years ago is back.”

Fatty’s smiley face suddenly became as sharp as a knife.

The principal took a glance at him and said faintly, “You’re from the Great Six. As a highborn, you had the best form of education. You’re arguably the most outstanding talent cultivated by the Great Six and also the strongest in strategic planning in the military system. The wolf came from an ordinary background with low status. He had never received any proper education. Someone like that could even suppress the Federation military for 10 years! Such an insult!”

“How about Chen Mu? He was a wanderer and he sold 1-star energy cards to sustain his live. He wasn’t even qualified to enter the Hua district. However, he was lucky. Someone like that would not catch my attention normally but now, he has grown into a remarkable person. See, even you admire his achievement.”

The principal’s tone was still calm when he said this.

“Don’t you think that I’m looking down on them. On the contrary, I’m afraid of them!”

Nick opened his eyes in shock while Fatty’s smile faded along.

“People only see Tang Hanpei and consider that he is the biggest enemy of the Federation. However, what scares me the most is the wolf and Chen Mu. You should take a look at our history. The ending of an era has always been led by someone from humble origins. They stepped on our corpse, sprayed our blood, deprive us of our nobility to build their own era. We will be classified as the lowest status while they build their own royal class. This is the replacement of an era.”

The principal’s deep and hoarse voice echoed in the room.

“The issue of the Federation falling into Tang Hanpei’s hands is only a matter in our internal hierarchy. No matter what, he came from the same hierarchy and therefore, even with spilled blood, he will not destroy everything. However, if the Federation was to fall into those hangdogs’s hands, all of us might as well go to hell. The entire Federation will be crushed and it will be forced to rebuild.”

“How can they have such powerful strength?” Nick muttered.

“They wouldn’t stand a chance if they were in the past. However, with the internal dissension and constant conquests between the Great Six, most of our energy would be spent on the internal issues.” The signs of aging on the principal’s face were obvious, “Even if I knew all these, I am unable to put a stop on it. Exactly like when the Star Academy Fought back after what Tang Hanpei had done to them. Do we have any other choice?”

The two of them went into silence.

Suddenly, the principal stared at Rossiji intensely.

“Rossiji. Don’t you feel excited about catching the wolf and Chen Mu?”