Tempest of the Battlefield

"Very well then." Wang Tong patted Guan Dongyang's shoulder and said, "I told you there would be rewards."

Guan Dongyang shook his head helplessly. He should have been more careful while making friends.

On the stage, Xiao Libie waited for his next opponent with an inviting smile. Zambrotta had ordered him to host this competition in order to raise the soldiers' spirit and morale. The large difference in the levels meant the no one would be of a real challenge for him.

"Who else would like come up here and give it a try?" Xiao Libie asked. Seeing that all the soldiers' enthusiasm had been spent, he was about to call it a day.

"Hold on! Someone wants to join the match!"

Someone beside Wang Tong shouted out, and the announcement lit everyone's face up with glee. They were surprised to see that someone else was willing to rise to the challenge.

Xiao Libie was taken aback by the development. He had defeated all the top fighters under his command. Who else would challenge him?

The crowd made way for Guan Dongyang and Wang Tong. Before Guan Dongyang was about to step on to the stage, Wang Tong patted on his shoulder again. Somehow, Guan Dongyang felt that Wang Tong's smile looked like a chuckle.

"My lady, it's the same old. No one can defeat general Xiao. Maybe, you won't get married ever."

"Shuanger, no one is asking you for your opinion! This tournament was to inspire the soldiers…It has nothing to do with our lady's marriage. He had already defeated all the soldiers who were thirty-five and above. I doubt any younger ones can best him."

"Phf...Even our lady was able to defeat him. Men are useless."

"Oh? Who is that handsome? He doesn't look like a soldier though...Another cannon fodder, I guess."

"My lady, my lady?"

As soon as Guan Dongyang arrived at the stage, Xiao Libie could immediately feel the power coming off from this seemingly frail frame.

"How can I address you?"

Guan Dongyang mustered as much manliness in his voice as possible and then said, "You can call me brother Guan. I have heard that there will be a plentiful reward if I win, eh? I mean...plenty of food, right?"

Xiao Libie smiled faintly and replied, "Indeed. What kind of weapon would you prefer? But, I believe that you are a caster, aren't you?"

"General Xiao has good eyes. You don't think a caster will be worth your time?"

"Of course, you do, please!"

"Please…"

Xiao Libie pointed his long blade at Guan Dongyang. Based on his years of experience on the battlefield, he could tell that his opponent was not just any mastery caster. Close quarter combat was not the mastery caster's strong suit, but the cocksure expression on Mr. Guan's face made Xiao Libie wary. He wouldn't be able to inspire anybody if he was defeated on his own stage.

Guan Dongyang smiled knowingly and folded his hands. Suddenly flames burst out from the tips of his fingers. The sight had rendered every one quiet, and only Guan Dongyang's chanting of the spell could be heard.

Even the lowest level firebolt spell was not easy to pull off. The crowd watched in amazement as the fire danced on his fingers like farriers with fiery wings.

The key in mastering the spells was in controlling the flow of energy instead of the intensity.

Suddenly, Guan Dongyang flicked his ten fingers at once and sent ten firebolts at his opponent. These firebolts increased in speed as soon as they left Guan Dongyang's fingertips. In a blink, they had grown to the size of a bowling ball each.

Xie Libie's face hardened as he knew that he had met a tough opponent. He squeezed the handle of the blade once and channeled his soul energy into it. Instead of dodging the firebolts, he lashed out the blade and attacked the incoming missiles with a swift side arm sweep.

Bang, Bang, Bang!

Xiao Libie deflected the fireballs one after another; every strike carried an immense power that the other soldiers had never seen before.

Guan Dongyang unleashed a few dozen fireball attacks in an instant. Nevertheless, Xiao Libie not only stood his ground unwaveringly, but also sneaked in a couple of soul energy attacks at the caster. Right in front of these soldiers, the two warriors pitted against each other with extraordinary moves.

No one had ever seen a mastery caster stand face to face against a METAL warrior. It was simply unthinkable, particularity when the caster's opponent, General Xiao, was a legendary level veteran.

Soldiers could not tell who had gotten the upper hand. However, their expression seemed to have told a very different situation. In contrast to Guan Dongyang's seemingly casual smirk, Xiao Libie's face was hard as stone. There was something unique about Guan Dongyang's fireball attack. Instead of being deflected upon strike, they exploded right in Xiao Libie's face upon contact with the blade. Xiao Libie could avoid the damage from the fireball, but he could not avoid the splash damage from the explosion. In addition, General Xiao also registered that his opponent was a wielder of the wind element. Although the level of his wind element spell was low, he had used it with such absurdness that it made him look like a pro.

KOM!

Xiao Libie stepped back and gained some distance from his opponent as he charged up his soul energy and GN force. When he had gained enough room, he tightened his back and launched himself forward like a cannonball. This was an improved version of the belligerent dash technique, and it would render Guan Dongyang's fire spells useless.

However, Guan Dongyang didn't seem to have registered the danger as he cast another fire spell: Fire Drake! Seizing the opportunity, General Xiao unleashed the attack he had and roared, "Panorama Blade Sweep!"

The blade suddenly scintillated with a bright aura as it swept across the air to meet the fire drake. The soldiers cheered for their general, but didn't notice the cold smirk on Guan Dongyang's face. The fire drake was sliced into two as the momentum carried the two halves past Xiao Libie. However, these two fiery shapes didn't disappear; instead, they writhed their way back to each other and merged together anew. The head of the serpent turned around and opened its flaming mouth as it bit at general Xiao on the nape of his neck.

KOM!

The attack sent Xiao Libie reeling forward for a dozen feet. His soldiers were stunned by this development.

Wang Tong was amused by this drama. Xiao Libie was a solid warrior, but he was no match against Guan Dongyang by a long chalk. Not even Vorenus was confident in a fight against Guan Dongyang, much less a regular level twenty-two fighter.

However, Wang Tong conceded that Xiao Libie had done a good job so far, particularly when he was using a weapon he was not familiar with.

After the smoke on the stage had dissipated, Xiao Libie stood up with a genuine smile on his face. "What a powerful mastery spell! I bet there is only one person in the world who can master the fire spell to such degree, and his name is Guan Dongyang."

"I had heard that Brother Xiao's kopesh skill was also brilliant." Guan Dongyang smiled back. Xiao Libie had thrown away his blade and used his favorite weapon, the kopesh, a sickle-shaped hook.

As the best student of Zambrotta, Xiao Libie was famous for his kopesh skills on the battlefield. His personal weapon was designed and forged by Zambrotta himself. It had twenty-eight precisely placed holes on the back of the blade; their purpose was to modulate and amplify the energy during an attack.

It was particularly effective while fighting against the Zergs, and Xiao Libie kept it only for special occasions, such as this.

Xiao Libie reckoned that the fire drake had split into two not because of his strike, but was actively separated by Guan Dongyang to dodge his attack. Meanwhile, the fire drake was not able to even touch Xiao Libie, since its surprise attack was easily blocked by the kopesh.

"My lady! That is the fire lord Guan Dongyang!" Shuanger remarked excitedly. The entire plaza sizzled with surprise after they had learned the identity of the challenger.

Seeing the indifference in her lady's eyes, Shuanger scratched her head and murmured. "You don't think so? He seems to fit the description. Handsome, kind of cocky."

Brenda remarked lightly, "Yes, I believe that is him. But, where is the heir of the Blade Warrior? "

"The devil? Wang...Wang Tong? That...that devil who had killed thousands of dark ones is here?" Shuanger was shocked as she covered her mouth to suppress a gasp.

"My lady...are you...I mean...You won't fancy a murderous butcher, will you?" Shuanger asked as concern flashed in her eyes.

"He is a hero. Don't talk about him like that." Brenda rebutted.

Shuanger stuck her tongue out and made a face. "Fine, fine! As you wish my lady. He had killed so many Zergs that I wager he must look like a boorish brute. His portraits could be an overly romanticized image of him. I doubt he is good looking. Anyways, why do you think they are here? "

Brenda smiled faintly and said, "For supplies, perhaps?"

"What? Food?"

"METAL suits, more likely. Regardless of how powerful his men were, no METAL could last forever. Once the METAL suits were done for, the soldiers' lives would be at stake." Brenda said distractedly as she scanned the crowd for any sign of Wang Tong.

She found him, and he looked exactly the same as his portrait. As the crowd cheered for Guan Dongyang, Wang Tong turned around and smiled back at Brenda.

"Lie Xuan, your husband has just made himself the hotshot of the city." Wu Lin jested.

"Of course, my man is the best." Lie Xuan said with a smug smile.

"I am afraid that Wang Tong is behind all this. You need to watch out for that guy." Xiao Yuyu shook her head and said.

"What a jerk! He would rather impress the strangers than us girls working with him." Tan Jie complained.

"Touche! I don't think that princess Brenda is any prettier than our chief!"