Chapter 242

Chapter 242

In the early rounds, all the teams were highly efficient—most matches ended within one or two days. Battles lasting three days or more were considered especially impressive. Therefore, even though there were many military academies and teams across the empire, the competition progressed quickly. Although the later rounds gradually became longer, by the third month they had already reached the final stage—the quarterfinals.

Five of the teams had fought their way up through fierce competition, while the remaining three were the seeded teams from Shoujun, Changying, and the United squad.

The matchups were determined by a random draw, with each team sending a representative to pick their battle venue.

Shoujun hesitated slightly in choosing their representative.

During the previous friendly match against Changying, they had unanimously chosen Bai Xingshu.

It couldn’t be helped—"Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way" was simply too famous. Plus, after several holiday events, whether good or bad, everyone in the various academies recognized the name Bai Xingshu.

It was the obvious choice.

But for a simple draw…

After a quick discussion, they instead chose Shen Geng.

Their commander.

For one, during the last match against Changying, being rallied under the banner of "Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way" to attack the enemy base had been thrilling. That experience had truly earned Shen Geng authority among his peers.

And then…

“Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way” didn’t exactly have a reputation for good luck.

Back when they first entered the beginner tier, they were matched against Fan Mao, the 74th-ranked player—a popular streamer. When they moved up to the intermediate tier, they were immediately matched against Lin Li, the top-ranked player there.

Sure, it could be explained by their high win rate—but it still left everyone with the impression that someone might be a bit of a jinx.

As for Shen Geng…

Right from enrollment, he was assigned to live with his partner. Then, when he became an Alpha, his partner turned into an Omega, and their dorm was upgraded to a couple's room. Who wouldn’t be jealous?

Talk about luck!

Shen Geng wasn’t happy at all about being chosen for such a reason. As students of a military academy, he believed they should rely on logic.

Annoyed but silent, Shen Geng stepped forward as the first team to draw, and picked their battle venue.

The result appeared instantly on the screen.

—Changying Military University.

The Shoujun team cheered loudly.

Told you! The Commander’s luck is unbeatable!

This was the best draw possible.

As a seeded team, they couldn’t be assigned to fight at their own academy—the system automatically blocked that option to prevent home-field advantage.

Under these circumstances, Changying, the only academy they had previously faced in a friendly match, was the ideal venue.

Then the representative from United Military University stepped up to draw.

The matchup was displayed just as quickly.

—Changying Military University.

The first two teams drawn were paired against each other, causing a slight stir in the venue. The Changying representative was one of those stirred by the result.

When he saw the outcome, the Changying representative's face lit up.

Shoujun vs. United!

It wasn't that Changying had lost confidence in facing Shoujun after last semester’s two exhibition matches, nor did they think United was a pushover or that their early tournament performance gave them a better chance of winning.

Rather...

The Changying representative leaned over to Shen Geng and immediately said, "Your tactics in the first exhibition match last semester were so interesting. How about giving United a dose of that in the league?"

They’re in this together—United better not get left out!

Changying had gotten their butts kicked during the exhibition matches and naturally complained to their classmates at Shoujun. Soon enough, the story of Bai Xingshu using that same move against his own classmates in the Freshman Tournament became legendary.

Misery loves company. If only you suffer, you feel miserable. But if someone suffers with you, it suddenly feels a lot better—especially when you realize Bai Xingshu beat up his own classmates the most.

Still, even though things were bad for them, why had United gotten off easy while only Changying and Shoujun had experienced it?

As the empire’s top three military academies, how could they let United skip the fun?

Right?

This nine-tailed fox from Changying practically spun tales straight out of Liaozhai for Shen Geng, right out in the open.

Shen Geng: "..."

What on earth did this person think Bai Xingshu was?! he thought.

Those were normal tactics! Tactics, understand?!

Not tools for bullying other schools!

Fuming silently, Shen Geng maintained a poker face as he stepped off the stage and sat down beside Bai Xingshu.

"Ahem," Shen Geng cleared his throat, speaking just loud enough to be heard, "what do you think... Should we run 'Operation Ghost' again?"

Instantly, the expressions of those who had found it odd when Shen suddenly sat in the Combat Department’s section brightened.

They remembered too—among the three military academies, only United had dodged the bullet.

Talk about winning hearts and minds.

In no time, no one had any objections to Shen Geng sitting there. In fact, the person originally seated next to Bai Xingshu even made room to give Shen Geng more space.

Bai Xingshu: "..."

He turned and gave Shen Geng the side-eye, clearly completely done.

He knew Shen Geng was the crown prince, and that he thought just like the emperor—never seeing much difference between the three academies. Shen Geng had chosen Shoujun just because it was the farthest from the palace.

This also means it's far from various political institutions and the territories of elite families.

By blending into Shoujun, he wouldn't randomly encounter big-shot politicians or brass who might suddenly do a double-take at his figure—thinking, “Wait, is that the missing Crown Prince?”

So when Shen Geng suddenly sat beside him and said those words, his purpose was definitely not to discuss anything about that ‘Ghost’ business.

This was just a straight-up charm offensive.

And indeed, with just one sentence, he succeeded.

However, Bai Xingshu felt he couldn’t agree to this and outright refused: “Other teams are one thing, but United is off-limits.”

“Their star squad hasn’t even seen combat yet. If we end it in an hour again, how should United’s brass score them?”

Screwing around in practice matches is one thing, but in a formal league that affects the future of military academy participants—this wouldn’t just stir up trouble, it would create blood feuds.

Bai Xingshu’s words immediately cooled Shoujun’s jets a little, though not entirely.

They compromised.

“Deputy Squad Leader, at least give them a scare!”

“Show ’em what you’ve got—give ’em a lesson they won’t forget! Trick a few people, then we’ll pull back!”

“Exactly! Getting wrecked by you is barely a step up from mech theft anyway. Before losing their mechs, they’d at least get a split-second ego boost, thinking they’d taken down Bai Xingshu.”

Listening to his classmates’ encouraging words, Bai Xingshu couldn’t help thinking… wait, was that a dig at him?

That last part—did they just roast him too?