Xiao Lin was shocked and furious. They were at Dawn Academy, their own territory, but he was being ambushed by this foreigner. It was nothing short of blatant contempt.
However, at that moment, he did not have time to protest as the sword aura he unleashed was intercepted in mid-air. The next second, Xiao Lin felt a screeching wind, and even under Ruin, Xiao Lin only had a blink of an eye to react.
That blink only allowed him to distance himself by a little bit before he saw a darkened figure lunge at him. Amidst the loud noise, Xiao Lin felt like his body had been hit by a large steel boulder, and he was knocked away, completely unable to control himself.
What enormous strength! What terrifying explosiveness!
Even with his Ruin state, he had no way to block this guy’s strength!
The massive impact caused Xiao Lin to feel suffocated for an instant. He had obviously not brought any weapons to the banquet, and his fists were not the best way to use the power of sword aura, causing him to be at an absolute disadvantage. At that moment, Xiao Lin’s combat ability almost caused him to activate Myth.
“Enough!”
“Stop it!”
“Alexander! Stop causing trouble!”
…
A ruckus could be heard within the hall, and they managed to stop the battle before Xiao Lin activated Myth. Both the Russian academy and Dawn Academy’s people rushed over, and the first thing they checked on was the man who suddenly attacked and Xiao Lin’s condition.
“How are you feeling?” The president was quite anxious as Xiao Lin did not have any armor on, and his shirt had already been ripped apart. With all the blood, it looked quite severe.
“It’s fine; it’s just a flesh wound.” Xiao Lin was actually not in bad shape. The fight was short, and he had used his Ruin state, so there was no way he could be defeated in a single strike.
The president let out a sigh of relief after making sure Xiao Lin was fine. The Russians were also done with their checks, and both of their representatives talked to each other. Since the two of them were fine, the matter could be settled amicably.
“I’m sorry, Alexander isn’t good with alcohol, and he loses his temper everytime he gets drunk. We’ll make sure to compensate you!” The Russians were the ones who spoke up first.
If the Russians accepted the blame first, then Dawn Academy would not be able to easily press them for more. However, the president hesitated for a moment before looking at Xiao Lin. He then turned around, looking at the Russian man before saying, “I’ll let Xiao Lin decide on this.”
Xiao Lin was just by the side, but his attention was not on their negotiations. His gaze was on the man who was leaning against a pillar. It was the man who had ambushed him just now, Alexander. The man reeked of alcohol, and had his eyebrows furrowed. They were not lying; Alexander really did look like he was extremely drunk. The man’s face was red, and even his expression seemed to be in a daze.
“He is very strong,” Xiao Lin suddenly said.
The Russian man paused for a moment before saying proudly, “In terms of strength, not a single new student in any of the academies will be able to compete with Alexander!”
Xiao Lin smiled softly. “It was just a brief scuffle, and even after being ambushed I just suffered a few scratches.”
The other party’s words were stopped.
Seemingly wanting to continue, Alexander suddenly spoke up, still drunk, even after that bout earlier. He made a thumbs-up gesture at Xiao Lin, saying, “You’re not bad. Will you be participating in the friendly matches?”
“Yes, I’ll be in the individual tournament.” Xiao Lin nodded.
“The individual tournament.” Alexander seemed very disappointed. After that, he drunkenly looked at their leader, saying, “Vice President, I’ve decided that I want to participate in the individual matches!”
“The name list is already set! You’re only here to watch this time. You’ve been ordered to not take part!” The vice president immediately berated the man in a low voice after a moment of astonishment. He spoke in Russian, but someone quickly translated it for Xiao Lin.
“I don’t care!”
“There’s no way!”
“Then I’ll just stay here!”
As they argued, Alexander actually lay down on the floor right there. Even a faint snoring could be heard. The Russians looked very frustrated, but the others were obviously not willing to give in.
The president seemed to have a thought before flashing his trademark smile, saying, “Youngsters naturally like to fight, and since Alexander requested it, why don’t we satisfy him?”
“The president requested that he be prohibited from fighting before we came,” the vice president said expressionlessly.
“Why don’t we just have them fight in an informal match. It won’t be in a tournament format, and won’t count in the friendly match tally. That way, you’ll have a good reason for when you go back, and I’ll give your president a letter to explain things. We’ll bear any of the consequences. So, how about it?” The president seemed to have already been prepared for everything.
The vice president hesitated for a moment, but after looking at Alexander, who was obstinately not standing up, he probably felt that it would damage the Russian academy’s reputation too much to decline, so he finally clenched his teeth and agreed reluctantly.
The brief conflict ended there, and the banquet ended prematurely. Diana shot Xiao Lin a playful look from within the crowd, and mouthed the words, “I’m looking forward to this battle!”
…
Even though Xiao Lin looked fine, the president still brought him to the treatment room to go through some specialized treatment, just in case. As they waited, Xiao Lin could not help but ask, “How much do you know about Alexander?”
The president said, “He’s the strongest student among Russia’s first-years this year.”
“An S-rank talent holder?”
“That’s right. His talent is called War God. The passive effect is that it constantly adds to his Strength attribute as he ages. The older he is, the more horrifying his Strength will be. The active effect allows him to be possessed by the War God for a brief period. It can cancel out any magic effects, and he will get even more Strength.”
“Simple but effective. What a good talent!” Xiao Lin said, evaluating despite his surprise. The talent was not too complicated, as it merely added to his strength. It was simple and practical. From their short exchange earlier, Xiao Lin felt how much the man’s strength had risen.
However, Xiao Lin felt like something was off as he suspiciously said, “Doesn’t every talent holder keep their talents a tight secret? How do we know of a Russian’s talent?”
The president smiled and said, “Do you think that an alcoholic looks like someone who is good at keeping secrets? I heard that Alexander was tricked into revealing it while he was drunk in one of their gatherings.”