The Card Apprentice

Chapter 506: The Terrifying Rossiji

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

First Military Force of the Federation.

As usual, the warriors began their daily training. Although there was no peace throughout the Federation, this did not affect the military base. The military base was like a utopia as it was not affected in the slightest bit. However, the discipline of the First Military Force was always strict, and their daily training was also difficult and unique.

As compared to the warriors outside who were sweating bullets, the work in the General Staff Unit was much more relaxed. The staff members were drinking coffee while making conversation in small groups.

Suddenly, a sharp summon could be heard!

The General Staff Unit immediately went silent, and everyone stopped whatever work they were doing. Instantly, the atmosphere in the General Staff Unit became extremely nervous, and the relaxed expressions on the staff members’ face disappeared.

“This is an emergency order! All staff members please gather at Hall Number One within five minutes!”

With a crash, a coffee cup fell on the floor and shattered into pieces. But at this moment, no one cared. They did not care much for their usual appearance as they rushed off quickly. What a joke, one would need at least three minutes to get to Hall Number One from the General Staff Unit, and they dare not show up late. If one showed up late during an emergency order, the military law would be merciless upon them.

When these staff members who lacked exercise on normal days arrived at Hall Number One after running with all their might, a lot of staff members were already gathered here. This included a large number of middle rank officers.

Everyone had a solemn look on their face. No one knew what this time’s emergency order was for.

Could it be that a war is about to happen?

With the fastest speed, everyone found a seat and sat down. In a blink of an eye, the huge hall was shrouded in darkness, but no sound could be heard from within.

At the front of the hall, a huge light screen appeared. Military Force Leader Wei Yueqing stood in front of the light screen, he scanned the nervous expressions on the faces of the staff members and officers, and appeared satisfied, “Not bad, no one is late.”

As he swept his eyes slowly over the hall, everyone straightened their backs and was prepared to listen to his orders.

“The reason why I gathered all of you here today is to show you something.” Wei Yueqing squinted his eyes, and the sharpness in them could be faintly seen, “I think everyone knows of the White Commander’s annihilation of the Big Bad Wolves. Has anyone managed to conduct a dry run on this?”

No one made a sound.

“Looks like there is none. What a shame.” A look full of mockery appeared on Wei Yueqing’s face, “How can the General Staff Unit of the First Military Force be unable to solve such a small problem!”

Blood rushed up the faces of the staff members abruptly, causing their faces to look so red that it seemed as if blood was about to come out from them. They felt as if there was something blocking their airways, making them uncomfortable to the point that they were going to spit blood. This was their first time being lectured so heartlessly by the Military Force Leader.

“You all were not able to solve it, but someone did.” The mockery on Qei Yueqing’s face disappeared and was replaced with a coldness that sent chills into a person’s heart, “The person who took action this time was Rossiji!”

The moment he said this, there was an uproar from everyone who was below.

However when Wei Yueqing gazed coldly at them, the uproar turned into silence.

“Rossiji is known as the Federation’s number one tactical genius, and is also Star Court’s trump card. You must all remember this! He is the First Military Force’s greatest enemy!” He did not even try to conceal the murderous intention in his words, “All this while, we knew too little about him.”

As he stood on the stage, he suddenly recalled something Song Chengyan said to him.

The pale complexion and calm smile on Song Chengyan’s face when he said that, as well as what was said, were both imprinted deeply in Wei Yueqing’s mind.

“Commanders League Tournament? Not a lot people will put in their greatest effort, for example Rossiji and I. Only God will know who is the more powerful one between us.”

When he thought of Ah Yan’s death, his chest was in pain. Nonetheless, he concentrated his attention and continued.

“This time, he actually took the initiative to appear, so this opportunity is extremely precious to us. I want the whole General Staff Unit to watch this show’s latest episode. You need to analyse Rossiji’s personality, habits, expertise, tactical use as well as everything else that can be analysed!”

“Yes!” All the members of the General Staff Unit who was holding their breaths roared out loudly.

Usually, he ought to showcase an expression of satisfaction at such a time. But this time, his face remained unmoving, “Hmph! Go and learn more about how other people analyse things! Is the General Staff Unit useless without Song Chengyan?”

These words carried an immense weight!

Every person from the General Staff Unit looked extremely uneasy.

They were like a pack of wolves as they glared at the light screen. Those faces were as if they held a deep grudge against the light screen.

The same scenario played out in the other 11 military forces. Not only this, Tang Hanpei, Jia Yingxia and Jie Yanbai were all watching...

And all of this, was due to one name.

Rossiji, the Federation’s number one tactical genius! No one will neglect anything to do with this name. According to them, Rossiji’s appearance had always brought on an extraordinary meaning. As for other people, how could they let go of such a wonderful chance to learn from the never before personal analysis by the Federation’s number one tactical genius?

Right in front of countless eyes, Rossiji slowly spoke.

“The moment I noticed you was when we were at Star Court’s War Performance Hall. A lot of students failed in their derivation, so they came seeking help from me. I have to say, this is an extremely interesting show. Its creativity deserves praise.”

“The White Commander’s battle results are surprising. Winning against 20 with five, this is a model battle where the one inferior in numbers won. Although the White Commander is the disciple of Senior Caesar, but for you to be able to do this, even I could not help but to be filled with curiosity. Thus, I initiated a series of research.”

Countless people listened to Rossiji’s analysis quietly in front of the platform, in fear of missing out even one word. Chen Mu had also showed a focused expression. As for Qiu Shanyu, he completely forgot to mock Chen Mu at this moment. Until now, she didn’t know how Chen Mu won this unbelievable battle.

“For this purpose, I mobilized Star Court’s Intelligence Department and collected all the information I could gather about the White Commander.”

There was an uproar from the audience in front of the platform.

“There is no need to go so far. Even if he is Caesar’s disciple, he shouldn’t be worth such effort from Lord Rossiji part!”

“What do you know? Could it be that you know this better than Lord Rossiji? If my Lord wants to do this, then it must be a necessity!”

“Exactly!”

“Looks like the White Commander is no ordinary character!”

“Isn’t that obvious? Ordinary character? How can an ordinary character be worth Lord Rossiji’s attention?”

...

Before the light screen, Ji Zhihao seemed uneasy. He said hoarsely, “Looks like we’ve really underestimated him.”

For this matter, Rossiji had even mobilized Star Court’s Intelligence Department. Hence, it was easy to imagine how important this matter was to him. It was impossible for someone without any capability to be appreciated by Rossiji.

Of course, Tan Yumin knew the ‘he’ whom Ji Zhihao was referring to. She didn’t say anything, and only remained silent. Yet the slight hint of loneliness in her eyes could not be swept away.

Chen Mu stared at the light screen with a grave expression.

Rossiji’s attention did not make him feel shocked at all. Instead, he felt a strong sense of danger. It felt as if he had become the target of an expert hunter, and this feeling was anything but reassuring.

“The more information I got, the more surprised I was.” A soft laugh could be heard from the light screen, “With a brief conclusion, I was able to determine the capabilities possessed by the White Commander. If I’m not mistaken, the White Commander’s Perception at that time had yet to reach grade seven.”

When he said this, everyone was stunned.

The White Commander’s Perception had actually not reached grade seven?

“According to my analysis, the White Commander should be an expert in perception control. The strength of his perception was not an advantage for him, but his battle skills are outstanding, and his combat power is far more powerful than that of a normal grade seven card artisan. Among the White Commander’s four subordinates, two of them should probably have the same combat power as that of a normal grade seven card artisan. As for the other two, one of them is a young man who has yet to reach the age of 16. I think even for Lord Tang Hanpei at this age, he should not be too powerful as well. Thus, his combat power would not be too high. What is worth suspicion is the other partner. He should be the White Commander’s trump card, and possess a powerful capability. However, I noticed an interesting point. Until now, there has not been any sign of this elite person’s actions, not even when the White Commander had suffered severe injuries. I was very confused at first, but now I understand. It is very much possible that the power that this White Commander’s partner possesses can only be unleashed in special circumstances. Of course, it is also possible that the White Commander was simply trying to hide this person.”

A chilling feeling appeared uncontrollably from the deepest part of Chen Mu’s heart. It was the first time he felt as if he was stripped of all his disguise.

As compared to card artisans, Wei-ah’s cardless sect did have a stricter requirement in terms of environment, such as the fact that he cannot fight in mid air.

“According to these calculations, the capability of the White Commander is truthfully not worth mentioning when compared against the capability of the Big Bad Wolves from the Comprehensive Federation Academy in the Heavenly Federation. If it was under normal circumstances, there would definitely be no way for him to win. However, the White Commander won, and despite having spent much time thinking about this, I still couldn’t grasp the main points. Nonetheless, the first thing that attracted my attention was the location where the battle happened, Fir Town.”

“Clearly, this was an ambush. But what is to be noted is that Fir Town was not the only path that would lead to Dongrui City. So how could the White Commander be so certain that the other would pass through Fir Town? There are two possibilities. One would be that the White Commander has a very precise source of intelligence, one that was able to pinpoint the exact path the Big Bad Wolves were going to take. I doubt this possibility as in reality, even Star Court’s Intelligence Department could not determine this. I do not think that the White Commander’s intelligence capability is stronger than the Star Court’s. Then the more possible option would be the other one, and that is that this outcome was something the White Commander could’ve estimated!”

“This judgment is actually not that difficult to reach. In addition to the Big Bad Wolves’ mentality of underestimating their foes, this path was the shortest. But this determination adds no benefit to the actual battle. The White Commander’s capability is not even enough for him to set a trap. Yet the final outcome was the complete annihilation of the Big Bad Wolves, and this was something which has troubled me for a long time. That was until I accidentally calculated the distance between Fir Town and the Seven Mengri City when I suddenly realized something. The White Commander utilized a factor which could have been easily neglected, and that is energy cards. The distance between Fir Town and Seven Mengri City is 3,700 kilometers. So when the Big Bad Wolves flew to Fir Town, the amount of energy remaining in the four star energy card ought to be around 40 percent. However, the weather in the Heavenly Drum Village District is extremely cold, so when one is flying they will have to put up energy shields. Thus, according to this calculation, the final remaining energy in the energy card should not even reach 20 percent. Of course, this is based on the assumption that the Big Bad Wolves did not change their energy cards during their journey. The White Commander accurately comprehended and manipulated the Big Bad Wolves’ mentality of underestimation, and subsequently found this wonderful ambush point. The White Commander’s elaborate thinking as well as his powerful estimation ability is shocking.”

Rossiji’s words were filled with admiration.

Chen Mu only felt chills in his body. It was as if Rossiji had seen it with his own eyes, as his speculations were precise to the finest detail.

“A small energy card was able to make a change in the crucial point of the battle. The important point of the battle now became whether if the Big Bad Wolves managed to change their cards successfully. If they succeed, the balance of capabilities will once again tip to their side. Unfortunately, the White Commander did not give them any chance to do so. This made me extremely curious. Based on the capabilities of these five, how could they have forced 20 powerful card artisans to not even have the chance to change cards? Notably, half of the team is made up of card artisans of grade seven and above.”

Everyone listened intently.

“The traces left behind after the battle in Fir Town showed that this place used a lot of highly explosive energy mass. This perfectly coincided with the rumored Bomb. The Perception of grade seven card artisans were extremely acute, so how could they have not noticed the White Commander’s ambush? I investigated all the news related to what happened on that day in Fir Town, and finally noticed the weather requirement of Fir Town on that day. On that day, the sky of Fir Town was filled with thick clouds, and this was extremely advantageous for an ambush.”

“However, the energy card used by the card artisans of the Big Bad Wolves to travel still had up to 20 percent of remaining energy. If the White Commander wanted to win, based on what I can see, there are two methods. The first method, is to fight using the pressuring method. He could continuously expend their energy to the point that they would die due to the complete energy depletion. The second method, would be to make a fatal strike when they are changing cards. According to the traces in the battlefield, the White Commander could have combined both methods together.”

“Moreover, in order to further exhaust the other party’s energy, the attack used must possess an element of surprise. There are two possibilities to this. One would be that the White Commander had utilized a special kind of card, whereby when an attack is launched it would not attract the attention of the other party. And if Bomb’s capability is truly the same as what was rumored, then what the White Commander needed was a delayed time period! This would require him to possess a powerful scanning card as well as an extremely precise calculation ability. I would personally lean more towards the latter! By biding his time and making fine arrangements, all loose threads were neatly tied up. It was the use of estimation against blind guesses that caused this iconic victory.”

Chen Mu was completely stunned and went pale!

All, all correct!

How, how can this be?

He did not think that his own thoughts surpassed others. But the fact that Rossiji was able to analyse the battle as if he had witnessed it himself based on just the information he gathered, the powerful ability to analyse which was shown by him was truly terrifying to the point that it made one’s hair stand!

“White Commander!”

Rossiji paused.

“Siji has learned much from his first meeting with someone who is as good at calculations as Your Excellency is. I wonder if Your Excellency will be able to make a visit to Star Court when you have the time? To be able to drink tea while discussing battles and learn from the man himself is such a joyous thing! Siji would be honored by Your Excellency’s presence!”

When the host appeared once again, his words which were full of excitement and provocation were neglected.

The people were still unable to pull themselves away from the earlier shock!

If it wasn’t because they saw it with their own eyes and heard it with their own ears, they would never have believed that Lord Rossiji had actually taken the initiative to personally invite the White Commander!

Qiu Shanyu looked at Chen Mu as if she had seen a ghost. She was so shocked that she couldn’t utter a single word.

In a blink of an eye, Chen Mu was pushed to the edge of a cliff!