The Card Apprentice

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Ah Zhe of the Snowflake Card Artisan Team was staring at the screen. His handsome face was so pale that it didn't even have the slightest pink tinge to it. That was the ninth time he had watched it! But he still couldn't stop himself from being shocked every time! The Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Frim was horrifyingly strong, which was something he had never expected.

They had made a wrong choice; there was no doubt about it! It was a great loss for them to have actively abandoned an ally with that kind of power. The strength of the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm was well above their estimation. That had led to them making the wrong decision when they had been strategizing.

The video was showing a huge sea of flames spreading across the sky and eye-piercingly bright light beams. There was also a continuous howling that was both deep and weird. Everytime he heard it, his heart couldn't help but waver. If they could possess those kinds of cards and all those sniper card artisans…

When will Big Brother come out? He nervously looked at the locked door of the training room. Mobley had cut off every connection to the outside world for his special training. The training room was completely locked. Unless it was opened from the inside or if someone was to open the door by force, they wouldn't be able to contact Mobley. Aside from carrying a whole box of power cards and his own battle cards, as well as food and water for him and Qing Qing, Mobley had brought nothing else in.

Within such a short time, that video had been spread among all of the large forces. It even got the attention of the militants. When faced with that flame, which was both overwhelming and possessed such a weird characteristic, the first thought of everyone watching the video was what they would do if they themselves were facing that horrifying sea of flames. The Coaxial Self-Spinning Impact was not a technique known by every card artisan.

Inside every group, leaders who were familiar with military activities and excelled at giving commands immediately realized that card could unleash an astounding force during large-scale combats. The difference between large-scale combats and the normal battles card artisans had was enormous. As the world had become corroded and as forces had formed in every land, large-scale combats had increased gradually. At that time, personal power during large-scale combats would be negligible, except for people like Tang Hanpei and Caesar, who were considered as peerless in their strength.

Were the 48 sniper card artisans all the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm had? How many more were there? Also, where had those card artisans come from? One scary guess raised in some people's minds—had the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm already mastered the large-scale method of training sniper card artisans? Nobody was worried about Dawei Card Artisan Team being wiped out; everyone had their mind on only those questions. Things had instantly become complicated.

A large team of card artisans flew at high speed through the sky in high spirits. Those 3,000 people were the notorious Blood Hammer Troop of the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team!

Every card artisan had an energy cloak over their head. Three thousand energy cloaks of different colors flew across the sky with howls, attracting everyone's attention.

A soft voice could be heard from a purplish-red energy cloak. "Come on! Traveling on a freezing day like this is what I hate most. It's no good for the skin!" The one who had spoken was the deputy captain of the Blood Hammer Troop, Shi Fengfei. The combination of purplish-red combat suit, ample bosom, and tightened waist was mouth-watering. Her tempting red lips and smoky, deep blue eyes were extremely attractive.

"Stop speaking nonsense!" Wu Yan was irritated. His body was huge; even his energy cloak was slightly larger than that of the other card artisans, making it eye-catching. A scar in the shape of a pound sign would shock anyone who saw it and also made him look murderous.

"What I say is true! Little Yan, my skin is a lot smoother than your stone face!" Shi Fengfei looked insulted. She touched her cheeks lightly with her purplish-red nails.

"Stop speaking nonsense!" The veins on Wu Yan's forehead twitched as he forced those three words from his mouth.

Beside them, Qi Li and Wang Yong were watching them respectfully. They tried carefully to keep a certain distance from those two.

"If my skin becomes less elastic, nobody will marry me!" Shi Fengfei said with sadness on her face, her deep blue eyes almost crying. "Little Yan, you need to make it up to me!"

"Stop speaking nonsense!" Wu Yan again forced those three words from between his teeth without opening his mouth. Violence was slightly showing through his pound-sign-shaped scar. Even the air surrounding him was unstable.

Qi Li and Wang Yong looked at each other and disappeared instantaneously from beside them. Whoosh. The other card artisans, who were obviously also experienced, disappeared abruptly. In the blink of an eye, nobody was seen within 200 meters of Wu Yan and Shi Fengfei.

"I am telling you to stop speaking nonsense!" Wu Yan could no longer hold his anger, and his every hair stood straight. The scar on his face was unleashed like a monster, and its murderous aura was moving unhindered!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Successive explosions started suddenly in midair, their shockwaves shaking some of the team members.

"Oh! Little Yan is amazing! I adore you very much! I will come find you tonight…" The sound of Shi Fengfei's bewitching voice could be heard amidst the explosions, giving chills to everyone nearby. As if avoiding a snake and a scorpion, they got even farther away from the two.

Wang Yong, who was watching them fight from afar, said in awe, "Deputy Captain sure is scary!" As the third biggest man in the unit, he had even more experience than the captain and deputy captain, and those experiences were as old as the wrinkles on his face.

Qi Li agreed with a whistle, "Not even the captain can handle her. I really don't know who in this world can."

"However, if this goes on, our progress will be considerably slowed down!" Wang Yong said worriedly. "The team leader requested us to take down the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm as quickly as possible." Time had left its profound marks on his body. The wrinkles on his face were more obvious when he raised his eyebrows.

Qi Li put both of his hands into his pockets and said lazily, "Do you know a way to stop them?" He was wearing the silver headband of the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team but wasn't wearing the standardized combat suit. Instead, he was wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of ordinary jeans. In that group of card artisans, he was annoying to look at.

Wang Yong's smile became wryer, but the look on his face had also turned grave. "I've studied the video in which the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm wiped out the Dawei Card Artisan Team. Our opponents are very strong!"

Qi Li had all of his attention on the captains, who were enjoying their fight. He said nonchalantly, "Of course. If they weren't, we wouldn't need to take action!"

"The odds are against us. I just got intel that some of the small card artisan teams that had surrendered to us suddenly cancelled their contracts with us. Instead, they started to establish connections with the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm." The wrinkles on Wang Yong's face deepened.

Qi Li stopped looking at the two fighting, and his nonchalant face became startled. "Are those guys tired of living?"

Wang Yong's worried look wasn't subsiding. "You saw the video. It would be abnormal if no group was planning something behind our backs."

"Oh. We just have to take down the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm before they make a move, then." Qi Li raised his head and returned to his nonchalant expression. He then looked at the two fighting captains and stretched. "We should go first. With Captain's and Deputy Captain's speed, it should be easy for them to catch up to us."

"True," Wang Yong agreed. "Everyone, let's continue onward!"

* * *

At Moon Frost Island, Bai Yue was in awe. "Did the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm decline it?"

"Yes. They not only declined us, but all of the other forces, as well, including the militants." The reporting card artisan was confused.

"What are they trying to do?" Suspicion flashed through Bai Yue's eyes. The technology the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm owned was something every single force wanted desperately. Moon Frost Island was no exception. Therefore, the second Bai Yue received the news, she had decided to establish a connection with the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm in every possible way.

To her, the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm was undoubtedly at a dead end. Even if they did control the weapons, they wouldn't be able to go against the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team. Her prediction was that the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm would agree to Moon Frost Island's offer if the latter slightly showed its intention to make an offer. The militants worried her most. It would be hard to tell who would win if the militants decided to compete with them.

The Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm's move had been unexpected. They had declined everyone's offer, Moon Frost Island's and the militants' included. Were they that confident in their abilities to defeat the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team? Did they not understand it would be extremely difficult for them to run away from the fate of being bombarded by everybody else even if they did defeat the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team?

Instead, forming allies with Moon Frost Island or the militants should have been the most tempting decision. But why had the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm declined to do so? Was their leader so foolish that he couldn't see what the situation was?

The same conversation occurred in the leaders' offices of many other forces. No one was able to understand what the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm was planning. Somebody believed the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm thought the offers weren't good enough. However, they had never even mentioned anything about an offer.

I don't understand! I truly do not understand! Innumerable people shook their heads. All of their attention, without exception, was fixed on every occurrence in that remote sector. They were curious. What is the next move of the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm?

The Pascal District was so remote that it limited the power of local forces. Under those circumstances, they couldn't fight the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team for it.

Just when everyone had their eyes on the Pascal District, another shocking piece of news came out. The pupil of Caesar, the killing god, had appeared!

The news immediately became the hottest topic. Just the phrase "Caesar, the killing god" was enough to trigger the nightmarish memories of many card artisans. His pupil was much like Caesar had been during his prime. Within ten moves, his pupil had killed a high-level Faya card artisan who had been using the Floating Wings of Blue Ice. It had shocked the world! On top of that, the mysterious disappearance of the six-star card Eternal Night had been bewildering. With the addition of the invasion of Faya's station by Qiao Yuan and the mysterious cardless sects ace, that series of incidents had instantly gained everyone's attention in Dongrui.

Qiao Yuan; the mysterious cardless sect ace; the disciple of Caesar, the killing god; Tan Yumin under the countless halos; Mei Ji, the master of Star Academy; the six-star card Eternal Night…

Any of those names was enough to intrigue anyone!