Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 461
The names representing each country similarly referred to the famous factions or organizations of their respective country. Among them, the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court were particularly well-known.
Even though the Parthenon Temple, the Holy Judgment Court, and the Hunter Union had originated from a specific country, their influences in the world were comparable to the Magic Associations of the Five Continents.
As such, if anyone referred to the world's most powerful magic organizations, there were eight of them in total.
Therefore, in terms of status, Mo Fan's role as a Hunter Master was actually very impressive! The ranks of the Mages in each of the eight organizations were actually comparable to one another. A five-star Hunter Master was equivalent to the mayor or general of a city.
Unfortunately, Mo Fan had not reached five stars yet. He was still quite a distance away.
A seven-star Hunter Master was referred to as a Senior Hunter. The status of a Senior Hunter was very impressive. It was very common for Magic Associations, the military, the local government, or a country's president to ask a Senior Hunter for help.
Mo Fan was highly motivated to become a Senior Hunter. Even though he was now a four-star Hunter Master after resolving the Drowning Curse, he was still far from impressive as a Hunter Master. He could imagine himself drooling just looking at the job requests worth a few hundred million, or billions, as their rewards!
Zhao Manyan was fairly familiar with the important people of the various factions. He could not help it, since his life mostly revolved around upper magical society. Knowing the people in charge and leaders of various factions was a basic requirement for a disciple in his clan.
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After the opening ceremony ended, it was time for the exhilarating, highly-anticipated ceremony whereby the teams drew their opponents.
There were thirty-two national teams, and no matter how the brackets were going to end up, every match between two national teams was surely going to turn into a bet with a huge pot involved. Otherwise, why would people that never cared about what was going on in their countries or magic tournaments suddenly be so passionate about the World College Tournament?
On top of that, the World College Tournament was held every four years, and had always been a hot topic across the world, as it was closely related to the glory and fame of a country. On the other hand, the money that was involved in the bets during this period was often comparable to the total sum of imports and exports for a country...
"Captain, you'll do the drawing," Advisor Feng Li told Ai Jiangtu.
The captains of each national team stepped forward. Long ago, the advisors were the ones doing the drawing, but for quite some time, the captains had taken over and become the ones to do the drawing instead. It was kind of an honor, since the drawing process was being broadcast live, allowing the world to see the captains of each team.
Ai Jiangtu had an imposing attitude, and did not even bother checking the opponent team that he had drawn. He simply let the judges take a glance at it, and went back to the team.
Thirty-two teams... even the teams from stronger countries were nervous. The first opponent they drew was very crucial, as a strong country would prefer not to fight against another strong country so soon. It would force them to expose their strength very early. The weaker countries were also hoping that they had not drawn a strong country as their opponent, as they would be disqualified right at the start of the tournament. No one would even remember their names and faces as they returned to their country in shame. If they did not perform as expected, they would even be scolded by their people. In a society with freedom of speech, ordinary people were the ones that would scold them in the worst manner. Even if they were utterly clueless about magic, they would still sound so righteous that others would mistake the person as being some smurf account from a respectful Mage.
As such, leaving the excitement aside, the members of the Chinese team were feeling great pressure, too. Apparently, the Chinese team was quite unlucky in the previous World College Tournament, stumbling into the American team in the second round, and were totally wrecked by their opponents.
If they still failed to achieve an impressive result this year, the officials back home would probably be extremely mad. Could they even talk peacefully with other countries? They would simply be the target of mind games from the leaders of other countries when they suddenly said something along the lines of, I heard that your national team lost again. It would immediately urge them to flip the table!
The others placed their attention on Ai Jiangtu, trying to tell if he actually looked relieved or worried after learning who their opponent was. However, Ai Jiangtu kept the same stern face throughout the process. He looked pretty much the same all the time. The rest of the team was wasting their time trying to read his mind.
Before Ai Jiangtu could announce who their opponent was, the Japanese team suddenly yelled out in joy and spoke in English in Japanese accents.
"Lucky! So lucky!"
Actually, they were just trying to say, We are f**king lucky!
Mo Fan and the others had already met the Japanese team when they were taking down the Red Ornaments Guild. The Japanese were simply a bunch of show-offs. Mo Fan still had a vague impression of their names and appearance.
The guy that yelled out in joy was Akira Matsuki, who had also been interested in the Dark Noble Mantle. He was currently looking at them with a hostile, scornful grin.
"So they are our first opponent?" Mo Fan asked aloud.
Almost half of the Japanese team had turned their heads toward the Chinese team. Akira Matsuki, Shou Watani, and the gentle girl in the sailor uniform were their 'old friends'.
"It seems like it," Nanyu revealed the team their captain had drawn with a wry smile.
The thirty-two teams that managed to make it to the finals differed in terms of strength, too. The Japanese team was considered above average among the teams. It was quite fateful for the two countries to stumble into one another at the start of the tournament!
"I seriously don't understand why they look so happy, like they are sure to win against us," Jiang Shaoxu scoffed at the Japanese team's reaction.
"It's mainly because they think we are weak because of our ranking in the last World College Tournament. Our team wasn't actually weak, but it was very unfortunate that they had to fight against the American team," Jiang Yu said.
"Let them have their fun for now, they won't even have the chance to cry when the day comes!" Guan Yu snapped coldly.
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On the other hand, the Japanese team had restrained themselves from feeling over-confident. They immediately focused as they discussed how they were going to handle their opponent.
Their Advisor Fujikata Tegami was not as optimistic as her students. She glanced at Mo Fan in his blue shirt over on the Chinese team and asked, "Was that guy the one that fought Casso, the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild?"
"Oh, he is! I almost forgot about him!" Shou Watani immediately recalled.
When the two teams cooperated to take down the Red Ornaments Guild, the strength that Mo Fan had displayed was absolutely shocking. He was surely going to be a tough opponent!
"What is there to be scared of? I bet he's the only person we have to look out for on their team. Do you really think he can carry the whole team alone?" Yosuke, who just joined the Japanese team recently, spoke up.
Chapter 1046 - Team Battle
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
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"Speaking of which, doesn't that mean our team is fighting the first match in the tournament?" Jiang Yu asked seriously, after taking a closer look at the badge Ai Jiangtu had drawn.
Everyone was so occupied by checking out who their opponent was that they had completely forgotten about the order of the matches. When they looked at the schedule on the giant screen closely, they realized they were actually fighting the opening match!
The opening match was extremely important, as the whole world would most likely be watching the first match of the tournament. If they were able to stand out during the opening match, they had basically made a name for themselves!
Even though strength was the most important thing for a Mage, luck was extremely important too!
"Let me handle these Japanese!" Guan Yu was extremely impatient. He was very excited when he learned that they were participating in the opening match.
They had gone around the world and trained hard for a year just to make a name in this tournament, especially given how it would greatly affect the faction supporting them!
"The opening match is a five-on-five team battle. We'll need to pick five representatives, and the Japanese will pick five, too," Advisor Feng Li said.
Since the advisors were present, they were the ones making the calls.
Feng Li scanned the team. He first looked at Mu Tingying, Nanrong Ni, Li Kaifeng, and Zu Jiming, and said calmly, "You four are still recovering from your injuries. You won't be taking part in the opening match."
The four widened their eyes. Did the advisor seriously just bench them before such an important match?
"Advisor, my injuries won't affect me by much, please let me take part in it!" Li Kaifeng immediately protested.
"Silence!" Advisor Feng Li snapped coldly. Li Kaifeng immediately clammed up.
Knowing that they had missed out on such a great opportunity, Mu Tingying, Zu Jiming, and Li Kaifeng glared at Mo Fan. They had the urge to simply burn Mo Fan into ashes with the raging flames in their eyes.
Meanwhile, Mo Fan was obviously gloating. He felt like he should have gone harder on them, so they would not even have had the chance to take part in the entire tournament!
"What are you even proud of? So what if you're strong on your own? It's a team battle, you could not even match a single finger of mine in a team battle!" Zu Jiming blurted out, unable to stand Mo Fan's gloating look.
As a Poison Mage, he was incredibly weak at fighting solo duels. However, the Poison Element was incredibly strong and annoying in a team battle. After all, it was one of the most unpredictable Elements. The poisons that different Poison Mages cast were actually different.
Similarly, Nanrong Ni was quite weak at fighting solo duels. As a pure supporter with the Healing and Blessing Elements, it did not make any sense to not let her participate in the duel. However, she was benched because of her injuries. Mo Fan was so serious at hurting them that the Lightning Tyrant had ended up torturing them for the entire week.
"We'll obey the advisor's arrangements," Nanrong Ni said, seeming extremely obedient to the order given to her.
However, after learning Nanrong Ni's true character, Mo Fan kept feeling how fake and vicious the woman was, in quite a scary way!
Mo Fan initially had a fairly good first impression of her. She was friendly, gentle, calm, and compassionate, yet when he realized that she was faking all of it, he felt extremely disgusted by everything she did!
That being said, the woman had really done a great job, being able to wear her cover so perfectly!
"Mo Fan, you will sit too," Feng Li waved his hand. He did not want to let Mo Fan display his talents in the opening match.
Mo Fan smacked his lips and murmured, "The team is likely going to lose without me."
"Mu Ningxue, Jiang Shaoxu, Guan Yu, Nanyu, Jiang Yu, you five go," Advisor Feng Li picked the five candidates.
"I don't think it's a great idea trying to preserve our strength against the Japanese team?" Song He and the other advisors immediately spoke up when they saw Feng Li's arrangements.
The two strongest members on the team were Ai Jiangtu and Mo Fan. The only time they fought a team together was when they were going up against the team at America's Training Hall. In the end, even the American team was wrecked completely. It clearly showed how outstanding they were.
The overall strength of the Japanese team was on par with the Chinese team. They would have to try their best in order to win the match. Since it was the team's first match, Song He and the other advisors thought Feng Li was trying too hard to preserve their strength, since he did not pick either Mo Fan or Ai Jiangtu.
Feng Li pondered for a while. His eyes scanned the members of the team.
"Old Feng, I think it's better if we win the first match," an aged voice came from behind the resting area.
An old Mage with gray hair and ordinary clothes had shown up. His vivid eyes naturally landed on Jiang Yu, who quickly went up to the old man and greeted him.
"Chief, you're here too!" Song He was fairly surprised when he saw the old man with gray-white short hair.
"He's the Royal Guard's chief, Pang Lai, that I told you before. Jiang Yu is his star student. He's the strongest Summoner in our country," Zhao Manyan told Mo Fan softly, knowing that he struggled to recognize people.
Mo Fan immediately understood the implications. To his surprise, he saw someone else familiar standing behind old Pang Lai. It was the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association, Han Ji!
Han Ji did not seem surprised when he saw Mo Fan. He said with a faint smile, "Not bad, you've made it to Venice."
"Were you seriously worried that I was going to be disqualified?" Mo Fan asked in return.
"Not really, but I heard that you aren't the most well-behaving person, so I was worried that you were going to be expelled or something..." Han Ji answered amiably.
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Han Ji talked to Mo Fan for a bit, before everyone went back to deciding on the candidates for the opening match.
Feng Li was most likely trying to preserve their strength, since exposing it too early would place the team in a disadvantageous position. The other teams would surely pick on them, especially when an Element was weak against certain Elements. If they put Mo Fan or Ai Jiangtu in the opening match, the other countries would surely target them. If your Fire was strong, they would send out two Water Mages. If your Lightning was outstanding, they would send out a meat shield with the Earth Element. If your Curse Element was impressive, they would send out a Psychic Mage...
The difference in terms of strength between the Mages was no longer huge since they were chosen as representatives of their national team. Someone like Mo Fan, who could take on a few Mages on his own, would be doomed if he encountered a strong Psychic Mage!
Ai Jiangtu was the pillar of the team, and Mo Fan was the ace. Feng Li did not want to use both his trump cards in the opening match. Even if they lost the first match, it would not affect their team by much.
However, others had different opinions.
"The first match is extremely important. If we lose, what the whole world says will turn into great pressure to the members, preventing them from performing as they are expected to. Let Xiao Ai go, we must win the first match," Royal Guards chief Pang Lai stated.
Feng Li thought about it again, and finally agreed to let Ai Jiangtu join the first match.
Ai Jiangtu replaced Nanyu. The captain would be leading the team in the opening match.
"Advisor, Shou Watani of the Japanese team is fairly strong, too. We met each other at the Caribbean Sea. I think he won't be any weaker than me," Ai Jiangtu stated firmly.
Even though Mo Fan had taken all the limelight when they were fighting against the Red Ornaments Guild, the others did fight the local government army and the remaining Mages of the Red Ornaments Guild. Ai Jiangtu purposely kept an eye on the Japanese team's captain, and he only had one word to describe the captain: strong!
As a matter of fact, if the guy called Shou Watani had been able to take on the Red Ornaments Guild's leader, he would have been able to beat him, too!
"Even you don't have the confidence to take him on?" Pang Lai asked curiously.
Ai Jiangtu was extremely popular with the authorities. After all, he was the rising star from the military. He was so powerful that he could easily crush anyone of the same age. He was like an instructor that had blended in with the students.
"I can't say for sure, it mainly depends on our Domains," Ai Jiangtu said.
"If you aren't feeling confident, let me go, my hands are itching!" Mo Fan was a great fan of fights.
"Piss off!" Feng Li snapped at him.
"I will try my best to secure our first victory," Ai Jiangtu promised.
Not feeling confident did not necessarily mean they would lose the match. Ai Jiangtu was only feeling that Shou Watani's strength was somewhat hard to measure, so he would have to keep an eye out for him. However, since he was chosen to fight the first match, he would not let his country down!
"Mmm, that's the spirit, go for it!" Feng Li nodded.
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In the end, the candidates were Mu Ningxue, Jiang Yu, Jiang Shaoxu, Ai Jiangtu, and Guan Yu.
"By the way, aren't we lacking firepower with this combination?" an advisor asked.
Just looking at the Elements the five candidates had, none of them had the Fire Element, which was the best offensive Element. Only Jiang Yu had Lightning as his secondary Element, but his Lightning was like the output of a little battery compared to Mo Fan's. It was unlikely that it could come in handy.
"I guess we'll have to leave the offense to Mu Ningxue," Song He said.
The only person with a destructive primary Element was Mu Ningxue. Her Ice Element was capable of defense and offense. If the whole team was leaning more toward utilities and defense, she would be fully responsible for the team's offense!
After roughly discussing their strategy, the candidates began to prepare themselves for the match.
There were quite a few stages in Venice. They were at the stadium where the opening ceremony was held, yet the stage for the match was bigger than four soccer fields. It was quite shocking, especially given how hard it was to secure such a large space in Venice, where every inch of the ground was as valuable as gold.
The scale of the stage reflected the wealth of the spectators. The seats were densely crowded, but considering how dangerous a magic battle could be, even with the barriers in place, they would not allow too many people to watch the match at the stadium. Besides, with modern magic technology, they could easily transmit the match with options of different views such as skybox, side-view, close-ups, or front-view right into the spectators' eyes.
