Chapter 376: Uphill Battle (2/2)

Truth be told, the roles which Wang Tong and Karl had played in revitalizing the school were much greater than those of Ma Xiaoru and Wang Ben.

People saw the first sliver of hope in seeing a glorious Ayrlarng when Wang Tong and Karl had prevailed in the fleet combat tournament and with Now, with Wang Tong's advancement into the final eight, the promising outlook of Ayrlarng already seemed like a reality.

Exactly how strong was Wang Tong?

Would Ayrlarng restore its former glory?

Was Wang Tong the reincarnation of the two legendary fighters?

Ever since Wang Tong's victory over Li Ruoer, questions related to Wang Tong had become the second most searched items online. The most popular items were still related to Einherjar Wannabe.

Ayrlarng's rising to fame couldn't have come at a more convenient time, since it was around August, and many students were deciding which school to go to. Although Ayrlarng was not yet as famous as Capth, it had become very popular among the citizens of Shangjin. Not only did Ayrlarng boast the best fleet combat program in the entire Confederation, but it also hosted the most influential student group, the S-Club. As flurries of applications arrived at the Admission's office, the department head of the Admissions finally felt that he was working at a top academy.

The final battle for section four was about to draw back its curtain. It would be a fight between Lie Jian and Wang Ben.

Wang Ben sat quietly inside of the resting room, surrounded by darkness. He needed a period of solitude to reflect on his life, and on what this fight meant for him. In addition to his father, the most influential person in his life had been his friend Wang Tong. Sometimes, he wished that he could live Wang Tong's life, no longer constrained by his birth.

This match was deemed to be an uphill battle for both combatants, since both fighters were aggression-focused.

The arena was packed with Martians who came to watch Lie Jian's performance. They had been getting bored with the sophisticated but mundane fights and had been looking forward to Lie Jian's much more visceral performance.

Wang Ben walked to the stage amidst the cheers of the audiences. He glanced across the stage with a placid expression. Wang Ben never cared about fame; he was on the stage for only one thing, fighting a tough opponent.

Wang Ben was also very adamant in upholding his values, which was a nice way of saying that he was stubborn. For example, he could have passed the maze quickly without fighting the Zergs. Instead, he had to make sure that all Zergs were dead, and almost lost his ticket to the tournament because of that.

Every coin had two sides. Although Wang Ben was hindered by his stubbornness at times, in the long run, he had greatly benefited from his iron will.

Although the story of Wang Ben's two mind-opening operations had been a laughing stock among many members of the great houses, by now, no one considered him a failure, but a paragon of perseverance.

Wang Tong and his friends had also arrived at the arena. Although some of the Ayrlarng students didn't want to attend Wang Ben's match, Wang Tong had convinced them to come in the end. Wang Tong knew that Wang Ben didn't switch school willingly; he must have been forced to do so by his father.

Everyone on Team Ayrlarng had come to the arena, except for Karl, who still held a grudge against Wang Ben's betrayal.

As Wang Ben glanced at the audiences, his eyes paused for a brief second on Team Ayrlarng, then he looked away, as a warmth rose inside him.

Among all the students of Ayrlarng, the one person who was able to catch up with Wang Tong's progress was neither Ma Xiaoru nor Hu Yangxuan; it was Wang Ben.

As a swell of cheers erupted among the Martian audiences, Lie Jian sauntered onto the stage. He threw away the cape, revealing the swarthy and brawny body underneath as he raised his fists in the air as a response to his fans.

Lie Jian did not think Wang Ben would be a tough opponent, since the latter had to try twice just to pass the mind-open operation. However, he thought it would be fun to humiliate General Hu Ben by defeating his son.