Like a long snake, an energy belt full of sparks had wrapped up the entire body of his energy cloak .

An electric belt! It's an electric belt!

The electric belt wasn't actually a powerful card; it was more like a card one might keep up one's sleeve . It emitted an energy belt that brought a cleverly distributed electric charge along with it . It had no attack qualities but instead produced near-field electric charges that could suck things in or delay their motion .

Card artisans who were good at the electric belt were rarely seen among civilians; they were more commonly seen in the military . Upon entering school, no young person would choose such a card . It had no lethal power and no self-defense power . Moreover, the skill required by the electric belt card had a much higher level of difficulty than that of ordinary battle fantasy cards . Only select military support teams would specifically cultivate such unique card artisans .

The difficulty and the required expense to cultivate an auxiliary-type card artisan were a lot higher than for an ordinary card artisan . They were also more easily killed in battle and had no way to carry out independent operations . Once they were alone, that basically meant they were dead . Card artisans good at the electric belt were also seldom seen because it required the card artisan to have top-notch skills with perceptual control . That was the only way they could distribute the charges cleverly enough . Card artisans who practiced the electric belt card needed to start at a young age, and their training style was completely different from that of ordinary card artisans .

Surprisingly, he had encountered a card artisan who was an expert in the electric belt card! His body suddenly tightened as the powerful forces nearly froze him in an instant .

Could it be military? That irrepressible notion flashed through his mind . But he was very powerful . His jet stream card abruptly opened, its huge force immediately breaking him free from the electric belt's power .

Still, during that brief period, the third and fourth attack waves on the heels of that one were unavoidable . His expression changed again as he realized what his adversary had in mind!

His adversary wasn't thinking of using the electric belt to contain him . He only needed the electric belt to entangle him for a little while—not even half a second . His adversary needed that half second . As a matter of fact, Bogner's team really only needed four-tenths of a second .

The two waves, composed of six attacks, solidly hit his energy cloak, and each hit had plenty of power that time! Even though it was a four-star energy cloak card, there was no way for it to meet such fierce attacks .

Crack! The light blue energy cloak had become a canopy of starbursts, like a light blue drizzle . In the dream-like drizzle of fragmented starbursts, the eyes on that resolute face glinted brightly with an overwhelming urge to battle . There were only scattered lights in the huge base from which those shots had been launched!

A moment later, his image gradually blurred until it finally disappeared .

What speed! Chen Mu watched, gape-mouthed . For the after-image to be sustained for such a long time would require some kind of terrifying speed! It looked like their adversary had one outstanding jet stream card . However you looked at it, their adversary's flight skills were superb .

Bogner's face remained as though it were all a matter of course . Of course, a card artisan who could use a four-star energy cloak would have such ability .

Someplace further from the base, the masked madam from Faya suddenly laughed . "It looks like our little friend has suffered a slight loss . Who would have thought the ace overseeing all of this would be so extraordinary?"

Butchie was watching the madam with a look of admiration . Her generosity at the last auction had immediately given Butchie good feelings toward her . The series of commands she had pa.s.sed down during that period all clearly showed her extraordinary wisdom . Not only Butchie, but Hugo and the Beard also felt won over by that madam who had been sent down by those above .

"It's about time for you to make your move, great Hugo . " The madam elegantly nodded her signal to Hugo .

"Yes, Madam!" Hugo's face was filled with respect . He stood right up, bringing along a few card artisans before disappearing into the jungle .

* * *

* * *

Jie Yanbai's shock was indescribable . That new base had brought him too many surprises . His adversary's defenses were watertight, and its every device had been carefully arranged, all interlocking . Incredibly awesome! Such an awesome person would never be so little-known . But, from the materials he'd been able to dig up, he hadn't found the least bit of a clue .

An outstanding commander was still more precious than an awesome card artisan . The commander was the brains of any troop and decided the fate of the entire team . Although some of the academies had such a specialization, any commander who hadn't experienced actual battle hardening would never be anything more than a paper tiger .

A commander who qualified after starting as a rookie needed to spend a long time at an extremely high cost, which often meant hundreds of lives . To become an excellent commander, they would still need to have native ability and understanding beyond their military training .

Hence, an excellent commander was extremely rare and precious . In the Heavenly Federation, most of that sort of talent was in the military . Only a few existed in some large-scale card artisan firms or as private consultants to the rich and powerful .

His adversary's moves were unusually masterful, and he would never have gotten to that point without ten or 20 years of tempering . Based on his investigations, Cao Dong couldn't have had such power . But how could he recruit such talent? Not only that, but he surprisingly had a card artisan inside who specialized in the electric belt . Such talent was reserved for the military .

Could Cao Dong actually have some connection to the military?

If it were all coincidental, it would really have to be some kind of coincidence . But it was no wonder he would think that way . For an excellent commander and a card artisan specializing in the electric belt card to both appear at the same time had to make a person wonder .

He was suddenly alerted .

* * *

It dawned on Bogner . "No wonder—it's Jie Yanbai . "

It dawned on Bogner . "No wonder—it's Jie Yanbai . "

The card artisan, who had been surrounded in midair, was the intruder who had just approached the base, and they could finally see him clearly . They had just heard the sound of an explosion from the distance and cautiously came to see what was behind it . They came upon the scene in front of them just as those eight were arriving .

Chen Mu recognized the one in charge of those eight card artisans . It was none other than Hugo from Faya, wearing his trademark half-mask with its unspeakably grim and freakishly demonic feel . But, unimaginably, the one who'd gotten the upper hand was actually the freelancer, Jie Yanbai!

Jie Yanbai's power was steadily holding off Hugo by a notch . Even encircled, he had plenty of room to maneuver and to handle his weapon with ease .

The energy body he emitted was a thumb-thick red beam, which had a terrifying penetrating power . With his own eyes, Chen Mu had seen a famous card artisan get run straight through after raising his energy cloak . Even more surprising was its staggering firing frequency . With just a slight flick of his index finger, the sky was filled with red beams woven into a net of light . Inside the splendid red net of light, Hugo's aurora beam card gave Chen Mu an unexpected sense of powerlessness .

"Tsk tsk, that Jie Yanbai is no ordinary being after all . To actually learn such a common card as the rouged finger to that extent is really not so simple!" As one who seldom praised anyone, Bogner still couldn't help but do so .

That name, rouged finger… Chen Mu felt it strange as soon as he thought of Jie Yanbai looking so imposing—such a firm and unyielding person so unexpectedly using such an effeminate card .

As though he had guessed what Chen Mu was thinking, Bogner explained as he stared at the group fighting in the sky . "Speaking of the rouged finger, it actually came from the hands of a female card artisan from the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics . No one knows what it had been called before, but ever since that female card artisan, the name rouged finger has been pa.s.sed down . There were countless legacies in the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics that were higher level than that . The men felt that it smacked of effeminacy, so people would seldom learn it .

"Jie Yanbai came from one of the ordinary residential districts, and after testing into the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics, he got the cold shoulder from every direction . That was except for one professor, who rather looked after him . He simply followed that professor in his practice . She was a woman, and what she practiced was the rouged finger . He took up her same legacy . It was said that he was mocked by the more accepted people in the school because of that .

"They never thought that by dint of his diligence—on top of his perseverance and savvy—the rouged finger could actually develop so vastly in his hands . He once made it into the top eight in a school compet.i.tion by virtue of those skills . Afterward, he never stopped tempering his strength in every direction until several years later, when he found out about the challenge from the president of the Federation Comprehensive Academy, Pavchek . He earned praise after that fierce battle . His value suddenly multiplied as his fame rose in the federation to become the famous ace of the younger generation . The rouged finger became widely known because of that . "

Chen Mu gave Bogner an inadvertent glance, never having thought Bogner would be so familiar with such gossipy news .

"They never thought that by dint of his diligence—on top of his perseverance and savvy—the rouged finger could actually develop so vastly in his hands . He once made it into the top eight in a school compet.i.tion by virtue of those skills . Afterward, he never stopped tempering his strength in every direction until several years later, when he found out about the challenge from the president of the Federation Comprehensive Academy, Pavchek . He earned praise after that fierce battle . His value suddenly multiplied as his fame rose in the federation to become the famous ace of the younger generation . The rouged finger became widely known because of that . "

Chen Mu gave Bogner an inadvertent glance, never having thought Bogner would be so familiar with such gossipy news .

Still, facing Jie Yanbai's power, Hugo and the others had made an adequate reckoning . Except for two card artisans having been shot through by the red beam during the first wave of confrontation, the other six had withstood .

Jie Yanbai rather dreaded Hugo's aurora beam, which could be seen by how carefully he dodged it . However, he hadn't thought Hugo was only putting up a front, and the true main attack would come from a different card artisan .

Hugo abruptly retreated, and the five card artisans suddenly raised their energy cloaks and plunged straight at Jie Yanbai!

Bogner's complexion suddenly changed as he shouted in a low voice, "Withdraw!"

Chen Mu's and Wei-ah's reactions were equally quick, with Wei-ah dragging Bogner along with one hand while retreating with Chen Mu deep into the jungle .

Hong!

There was a loud noise behind them as the sky suddenly lit up with a fiery ball of bright red beams to sting the eye . The explosive blow swept the forest clear like a hurricane . The sound of huge trees snapping came incessantly from beside them . Chen Mu only felt the huge force pus.h.i.+ng strongly from behind as his body plunged forward, almost hitting a tree . It was a good thing his reactions were quick . He let his body rock along with the continuous, driving force . That was how he could finally offset the force . Even though Wei-ah was carrying someone by his hand, his reactions were even quicker, and he just set his body .

"So ruthless!" Looking at that fireball in the sky, Bogner's face alternated between green and red, half in admiration and half spitting out those two words in contempt .

Looking at that brilliant burst of a fireball in the sky, Chen Mu helplessly felt a bone-chilling sensation .

Just then, a body unexpectedly burst out of that fireball . Even Hugo couldn't react for a while as he stared at his adversary disappearing into the horizon at an alarming rate .

Like a long snake, an energy belt full of sparks had wrapped up the entire body of his energy cloak . An electric belt! Its an electric belt! The electric belt wasnt actually a powerful card; it was more like a card one might keep up ones sleeve . It emitted an energy belt that brought a cleverly distributed electric charge along with it . It had no attack qualities but instead produced near-field electric charges that could suck things in or delay their motion . Card artisans who were good at the electric belt were rarely seen among civilians; they were more commonly seen in the military . Upon entering school, no young person would choose such a card . It had no lethal power and no self-defense power . Moreover, the skill required by the electric belt card had a much higher level of difficulty than that of ordinary battle fantasy cards . Only select military support teams would specifically cultivate such unique card artisans . The difficulty and the required expense to cultivate an auxiliary-type card artisan were a lot higher than for an ordinary card artisan . They were also more easily killed in battle and had no way to carry out independent operations . Once they were alone, that basically meant they were dead . Card artisans good at the electric belt were also seldom seen because it required the card artisan to have top-notch skills with perceptual control . That was the only way they could distribute the charges cleverly enough . Card artisans who practiced the electric belt card needed to start at a young age, and their training style was completely different from that of ordinary card artisans . Surprisingly, he had encountered a card artisan who was an expert in the electric belt card! His body suddenly tightened as the powerful forces nearly froze him in an instant . Could it be military? That irrepressible notion flashed through his mind . But he was very powerful . His jet stream card abruptly opened, its huge force immediately breaking him free from the electric belts power . Still, during that brief period, the third and fourth attack waves on the heels of that one were unavoidable . His expression changed again as he realized what his adversary had in mind! His adversary wasnt thinking of using the electric belt to contain him . He only needed the electric belt to entangle him for a little while—not even half a second . His adversary needed that half second . As a matter of fact, Bogners team really only needed four-tenths of a second . The two waves, composed of six attacks, solidly hit his energy cloak, and each hit had plenty of power that time! Even though it was a four-star energy cloak card, there was no way for it to meet such fierce attacks . Crack! The light blue energy cloak had become a canopy of starbursts, like a light blue drizzle . In the dream-like drizzle of fragmented starbursts, the eyes on that resolute face glinted brightly with an overwhelming urge to battle . There were only scattered lights in the huge base from which those shots had been launched! A moment later, his image gradually blurred until it finally disappeared . What speed! Chen Mu watched, gape-mouthed . For the after-image to be sustained for such a long time would require some kind of terrifying speed! It looked like their adversary had one outstanding jet stream card . However you looked at it, their adversarys flight skills were superb . Bogners face remained as though it were all a matter of course . Of course, a card artisan who could use a four-star energy cloak would have such ability . Someplace further from the base, the masked madam from Faya suddenly laughed . It looks like our little friend has suffered a slight loss . Who would have thought the ace overseeing all of this would be so extraordinary? Butchie was watching the madam with a look of admiration . Her generosity at the last auction had immediately given Butchie good feelings toward her . The series of commands she had pa.s.sed down during that period all clearly showed her extraordinary wisdom . Not only Butchie, but Hugo and the Beard also felt won over by that madam who had been sent down by those above . Its about time for you to make your move, great Hugo . The madam elegantly nodded her signal to Hugo . Yes, Madam! Hugos face was filled with respect . He stood right up, bringing along a few card artisans before disappearing into the jungle . * * * Jie Yanbais shock was indescribable . That new base had brought him too many surprises . His adversarys defenses were watertight, and its every device had been carefully arranged, all interlocking . Incredibly awesome! Such an awesome person would never be so little-known . But, from the materials hed been able to dig up, he hadnt found the least bit of a clue . An outstanding commander was still more precious than an awesome card artisan . The commander was the brains of any troop and decided the fate of the entire team . Although some of the academies had such a specialization, any commander who hadnt experienced actual battle hardening would never be anything more than a paper tiger . A commander who qualified after starting as a rookie needed to spend a long time at an extremely high cost, which often meant hundreds of lives . To become an excellent commander, they would still need to have native ability and understanding beyond their military training . Hence, an excellent commander was extremely rare and precious . In the Heavenly Federation, most of that sort of talent was in the military . Only a few existed in some large-scale card artisan firms or as private consultants to the rich and powerful . His adversarys moves were unusually masterful, and he would never have gotten to that point without ten or 20 years of tempering . Based on his investigations, Cao Dong couldnt have had such power . But how could he recruit such talent? Not only that, but he surprisingly had a card artisan inside who specialized in the electric belt . Such talent was reserved for the military . Could Cao Dong actually have some connection to the military? If it were all coincidental, it would really have to be some kind of coincidence . But it was no wonder he would think that way . For an excellent commander and a card artisan specializing in the electric belt card to both appear at the same time had to make a person wonder . He was suddenly alerted . * * * It dawned on Bogner . No wonder—its Jie Yanbai . The card artisan, who had been surrounded in midair, was the intruder who had just approached the base, and they could finally see him clearly . They had just heard the sound of an explosion from the distance and cautiously came to see what was behind it . They came upon the scene in front of them just as those eight were arriving . Chen Mu recognized the one in charge of those eight card artisans . It was none other than Hugo from Faya, wearing his trademark half-mask with its unspeakably grim and freakishly demonic feel . But, unimaginably, the one whod gotten the upper hand was actually the freelancer, Jie Yanbai! Jie Yanbais power was steadily holding off Hugo by a notch . Even encircled, he had plenty of room to maneuver and to handle his weapon with ease . The energy body he emitted was a thumb-thick red beam, which had a terrifying penetrating power . With his own eyes, Chen Mu had seen a famous card artisan get run straight through after raising his energy cloak . Even more surprising was its staggering firing frequency . With just a slight flick of his index finger, the sky was filled with red beams woven into a net of light . Inside the splendid red net of light, Hugos aurora beam card gave Chen Mu an unexpected sense of powerlessness . Tsk tsk, that Jie Yanbai is no ordinary being after all . To actually learn such a common card as the rouged finger to that extent is really not so simple! As one who seldom praised anyone, Bogner still couldnt help but do so . That name, rouged finger… Chen Mu felt it strange as soon as he thought of Jie Yanbai looking so imposing—such a firm and unyielding person so unexpectedly using such an effeminate card . As though he had guessed what Chen Mu was thinking, Bogner explained as he stared at the group fighting in the sky . Speaking of the rouged finger, it actually came from the hands of a female card artisan from the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics . No one knows what it had been called before, but ever since that female card artisan, the name rouged finger has been pa.s.sed down . There were countless legacies in the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics that were higher level than that . The men felt that it smacked of effeminacy, so people would seldom learn it . Jie Yanbai came from one of the ordinary residential districts, and after testing into the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics, he got the cold shoulder from every direction . That was except for one professor, who rather looked after him . He simply followed that professor in his practice . She was a woman, and what she practiced was the rouged finger . He took up her same legacy . It was said that he was mocked by the more accepted people in the school because of that . They never thought that by dint of his diligence—on top of his perseverance and savvy—the rouged finger could actually develop so vastly in his hands . He once made it into the top eight in a school compet.i.tion by virtue of those skills . Afterward, he never stopped tempering his strength in every direction until several years later, when he found out about the challenge from the president of the Federation Comprehensive Academy, Pavchek . He earned praise after that fierce battle . His value suddenly multiplied as his fame rose in the federation to become the famous ace of the younger generation . The rouged finger became widely known because of that . Chen Mu gave Bogner an inadvertent glance, never having thought Bogner would be so familiar with such gossipy news . Still, facing Jie Yanbais power, Hugo and the others had made an adequate reckoning . Except for two card artisans having been shot through by the red beam during the first wave of confrontation, the other six had withstood . Jie Yanbai rather dreaded Hugos aurora beam, which could be seen by how carefully he dodged it . However, he hadnt thought Hugo was only putting up a front, and the true main attack would come from a different card artisan . Hugo abruptly retreated, and the five card artisans suddenly raised their energy cloaks and plunged straight at Jie Yanbai! Bogners complexion suddenly changed as he shouted in a low voice, Withdraw! Chen Mus and Wei-ahs reactions were equally quick, with Wei-ah dragging Bogner along with one hand while retreating with Chen Mu deep into the jungle . Hong! There was a loud noise behind them as the sky suddenly lit up with a fiery ball of bright red beams to sting the eye . The explosive blow swept the forest clear like a hurricane . The sound of huge trees snapping came incessantly from beside them . Chen Mu only felt the huge force pus.h.i.+ng strongly from behind as his body plunged forward, almost hitting a tree . It was a good thing his reactions were quick . He let his body rock along with the continuous, driving force . That was how he could finally offset the force . Even though Wei-ah was carrying someone by his hand, his reactions were even quicker, and he just set his body . So ruthless! Looking at that fireball in the sky, Bogners face alternated between green and red, half in admiration and half spitting out those two words in contempt . Looking at that brilliant burst of a fireball in the sky, Chen Mu helplessly felt a bone-chilling sensation . Just then, a body unexpectedly burst out of that fireball . Even Hugo couldnt react for a while as he stared at his adversary disappearing into the horizon at an alarming rate .