Versatile Mage

The next duel was between Jiang Shaoxu and Koike Shoko.

Without any surprise, there was no chance that a Psychic Magician would lose in a one-on-one duel. The continuous Psychic Impacts simply gave her opponent no chance to cast a single spell.

Mo Fan had already experienced how disgusting it was to fight a Psychic Magician at Pearl Institute. He would have been crushed by Ding Yumian if it weren’t for his Focus Necklace.

Koike Shoko was not weak, yet Jiang Shaoxu’s Psychic Element gave her a great advantage. Koike Shoko suffered a humiliating defeat pretty soon.

Jiang Shaoxu lifted her proud gaze after the duel and said to her opponent, “This is the difference between a representative on the national team and a gatekeeper. It’s unwise to judge us by the standard of the countries that lost against you.”

They had won all three of the duels. They did not disappoint themselves, considering how confident they were at the start.

As the duels came to an end, everyone went back to their rooms to rest up. The strength of the Chinese national team had indeed surprised the people of the West Guardian Tower.

—

Late at night, the Japanese commander slowly walked back and forth on the balcony holding a phone in his hand. He was talking cautiously to the person on the other end.

“We’ve recorded the duels. We’ll send the information we collected over tonight. Unfortunately, they only sent three representatives to fight the duels. If we can collect more information, it will be of great help to us,” said the Japanese commander.

“Commander Takagi, the students of your West Guardian Tower are quite disappointing. I’ve already learned the details of the duels from my other subordinate. Your students lost the duels before they could gather any useful information,” said the slightly blurred voice on the other end.

“That isn’t the case. I believe you’ll be surprised if you watched the second duel. The representative from China was fighting against Mochizuki Chihaya, but he managed to stay in the duel for quite a long time. His Fire Element is extraordinary. I’ve already watched the recording, and if I’m not mistaken, the Chinese student is most likely a Summoner who has a rare Fire Elemental Beast. His rather unique Contracted Beast granted him the astonishing power of the Fire Element,” said Commander Takagi.

“Oh, I did hear something about it… let’s discuss it later, that goddamned Iwata is still not telling us?” asked the man with the blurred voice.

“It doesn’t seem like it,” replied Commander Takagi.

“Then he will be staying longer in the East Guardian Tower. I would like to see if he is tougher than the punishment he will receive in the East Guardian Tower!”

“What if he’s still not willing to tell us?”

“Do you seriously think he’ll trade his life just to keep the secret?”

“I think… ah, Chihaya, why are you still awake at this time?” blurted out Commander Takagi in the middle of his sentence when he suddenly discovered Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mochizuki Chihaya was standing on the balcony. Commander Takagi did not notice her at first, as she was hidden by the shadows.

Mochizuki Chihaya turned around. She was wearing a kimono with a ribbon around her waist. Her outstanding physique was rather alluring under the moonlight, even though she was trying to hide her sexiness.

“It’s very late now, who are you talking to on the phone?” asked Mochizuki Chihaya smiling when she realized Commander Takagi’s phone was lit up.

“Oh…oh, just a silly subordinate. I’m scolding him for some mistake he has made. Matsumoto, you better hand in the report I want early in the morning tomorrow. Otherwise, I’ll allocate you to some guard duty on the islands!” Commander Takagi said into the phone with a stern voice.

The aged commander standing on the walls along the maritime battlefield in Tokyo immediately had a dark expression, yet he had no choice but to put up an act. He lowered his voice and said, “Alright, Commander Takagi, I’ll fix the report overnight.”

“That’s all,” Commander Takagi hung up the call impatiently and shoved it into his pocket. He looked at Mochizuki Chihaya with a gentle smile.

Commander Takagi was around forty years old. He was not tall, and the lines on his face were sagging. His eyes curled into a line whenever he smiled, making it difficult to see his thoughts.

“Having trouble sleeping? Why don’t you come and have some drinks in my room? An old friend in Tokyo just brought me some nice wine, I know you’re a fan of it,” Commander Takagi walked closer to Mochizuki Chihaya and invited her with a gesture.

“I’m feeling a bit sleepy,” replied Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Oh, go get some rest then,” conceded Commander Takagi calmly.

“It is time for the guards in the East Guardian Tower to exchange their shifts, aren’t you supposed to be there, Commander Takagi?” Mochizuki Chihaya glanced at the mountain on the other side.

“I’ll be there after I retrieve something… oh, by the way, I’m sorry for what happened to your brother Iwata, we’ve sent many people out to find him, but we haven’t found any clues yet,” said Commander Takagi.

Mochizuki Chihaya stood there in silence.

Commander Takagi slowly walked forward. He looked at Mochizuki Chihaya’s back with a side glance as he walked past the woman and grinned with an evil flicker in his eyes.

—

Mochizuki Chihaya remained in her spot after Commander Takagi left. She only told the man she was tired just so he would not bother her further. She lifted her gaze and looked at the East Guardian Tower on the other mountain with a complicated expression.

“Are you really in there? Why did they lock you up?” murmured Mochizuki Chihaya.

A red glow suddenly descended from the top floor of the tower, followed by the ringing of an alarm, breaking the silence of the night.

Mochizuki Chihaya immediately jumped to the top floor and asked the guard, “What’s going on?”

The people asleep in the West Guardian Tower were immediately woken up by the alarm, with guards running up and down the stairs and balconies as they proceeded to their positions.

The West Guardian Tower was basically a fortress on a mountain. The sea to the east was considered the territory of the demon creatures outside of Osaka’s boundary.

“There’s something in the ocean!” replied a guard on duty.

“What is it? Did you take a close look at it?” asked Mochizuki Chihaya.

“It’s in the water, but I didn’t see what it was. More than a hundred sensors in the water were destroyed,” said the guard.

“More than a hundred? Is a pack of demon creatures invading us?”

“No, I think there’s only one!”

Mochizuki Chihaya’s eyes were immediately filled with astonishment and terror when she heard the words.