495 Number 1 Tease

Having lost their match, the entire Blazing Angels squadron appeared extremely dejected and dismayed. It was evident that they were gunning for the championship. However, in the end, they had lost to an S- squadron. It would take them a while before they could find a way to deal with this loss.

The last match on the second day was between the Grozny squadron and the Asuna Ocean Goddess squadron.

The strength of the Grozny squadron had long seeped into the hearts of everyone. As for the ice prince, Vladimir, he was one of the future representatives of the Federation, while his S+ rank evaluation was more than sufficient to give massive pressure to his opponents.

Despite that, the Asuna Ocean Goddess squadron's overall mentality and spirit were exceedingly good. If one was to consider the Blazing Angels squadron to be overly confident, the Asuna Ocean Goddess squadron's mindset would be as calm and broad as a tranquil lake.

The Asuna Ocean Goddess City was also considered to be one of the most unique cities among the Federation. The most powerful influence there being was the Ocean Goddess Sect, which was controlled by the extremely powerful Asuna Family, and was only of the few cities within the 100 City Federation that still maintained worship and faith towards the great oceans.

Furthermore, this city had indeed received blessings from the Ocean Goddess. During the dark era, all of the seas and oceans had all turned into forbidden regions, due to the havoc and destruction caused by sea beasts. Due to their earth-shattering might, they had caused extreme destruction to the lands which border any sea or ocean bodies. However, the Asuna Ocean Goddess City was situated in a region with gentle sea beasts. As long as mankind didn't go out to provoke them, those sea beasts would not retaliate and attack them. This resulted in the development of this city similar to that of Blazing City, where many youths being born within would have a certain chance to obtain the blessing of the Ocean Goddess. The result was various kinds of water attribute special abilities or auxiliary support special abilities, and even divine ones.

Squadrons that were able to make it to the top 16 would have to face various kinds of dissection, and that included their own, from analysts and the audience. Due to the "love" for the various famous OP participants, the backgrounds of the various members of the Asuna Ocean Goddess squadron were gradually brought to light.

Among them, the "twin cores" in the form of their captain and vice-captain had attracted the most attention.

Captain Misa Asuna, the successor of the Asuna Family. Truthfully speaking, there was no need to know much of her background, as her status as a Sanctuary Division member was more than sufficient to indicate her strength. If not for the limited number of slots within the Mo's List, she, who possessed a divine water attribute special ability, would definitely have made it into their ranks.

Among the various kinds of special abilities, only those that were able to interact with the essence of the attribute or call forth unique abilities would be granted to the title of "divine". An example would be Oli's Golden attribute special ability. Misa Asuna's special ability was another example. However, the competition to be ranked on the Mo's List's soldier rankings was too cruel. In the end, with a defence-oriented special ability, she was unable to climb onto that list. Nonetheless, Misa's performance in this CHF was indeed a sight to behold.

Vice-captain Belico. His ancestor was a former parliamentary speaker for Asuna Ocean Goddess City. Ever since he was young, he had displayed astonishing talent, allowing him to receive guidance from the Ocean Goddess Sect upon turning 6. He was a true blue elite soldier of the Ocean Goddess Sect. However, what really made him gain fame and reputation was his performance at 12 years old during the Ocean's Baptism ceremony, where he was the only child who made it out alive. As for what exactly had happened, no one knew for sure. However, the entire Ocean Goddess City remained tight-lipped about the concrete details. Nevertheless, the only thing this ceremony had confirmed was that he had obtained the unprecedented "Gift of the Ocean Goddess"!

The Grozny squadron, with their monarch-like demeanour. The Ocean Goddess squadron, the masters of mystery. It would definitely not be an easy task for the Grozny squadron to obtain victory.

It was time for both squadrons to enter the arena. However, it was at this moment when the sharp-eyed audience noticed something wrong...

There was one less person in the Grozny squadron lineup!

"Vladimir doesn't seem to be here, right?"

"What?"

"That can't be true, right! Fuck, I really don't see him! Might he be in the toilet?"

Vladimir was actually absent for such an important match? What the hell?

There were some people who did not believe their eyes. However, as time continued to tick by, Vladimir had still not appeared in the arena!

Anxiety grew in the hearts of the Grozny squadron supporters as they thought, this couldn't be right! Why would Vladimir not participate in this match?

The Grozny squadron was an entirely different entity without him around!

The Asuna Ocean Goddess squadron wasn't weak. Without Vladimir around, changes would appear in the stable advantage the Grozny squadron possessed, while the possibility of them being careless and giving up this match would become a reality. Furthermore, the Ocean Goddess squadron possessed the same powerful group battle capabilities as the Blazing Angels squadron!

The greatest unique trait of the Ocean Goddess squadron was that all of their members possessed the special ability capabilities to heal themselves and recover. This was the unique trait of water attribute special ability users. As long as they were able to drag the match into the group battle phase, they would possess the chance to win the match, regardless of who their opponents were. Not only do were they able to activate their healing abilities for a long duration, under the guidance of Mira Asuna, they were also about to form a resonance between their water attribute special abilities. This compatibility and tacit understanding between their members was the reason why they were recognized to be one of the top 3 squadrons in the current CHF standings.

Yet, with the Grozny squadron up against such an opponent, Vladimir had actually chosen not to show up?

Misa and Belico exchanged glances upon noticing this. They were naturally paying attention to the condition of the Grozny squadron. Truthfully speaking, due to them being privy to more information given to them by the influence behind them, they had obtained some news about this. However, never did they expect Vladimir to act so outrageously! He had really not placed them in his eyes.

"He's too arrogant." said Belico with a wrinkle on his forehead. Frankly speaking, although the Asuna Ocean Goddess squadron was collaborating with the Parliamentary influence, the latter had no jurisdiction over them. This was a genuine collaboration, as the Asuna Family wanted to make a breakthrough into the aristocratic family circles. The exceptional advantage they possessed allowed them freedom from the need to rely on other people. The Ocean Goddess squadron was sent to this CHF with the goal of obtaining honour and glory. They wanted to show to the whole entire Federation the strength of the Ocean Goddess squadron. However, never did they expect for such disregard to be shown towards them.

With a faint smile on her face, Misa replied, "This is a critical period of time for Casted Soul Stages to cast their Heroic Souls. No one will be able to resist such news, even if it is Carolyn or the others. Nevertheless, this indeed is a chance for us."

From the information they had received, it was said that the challenge "Gospel Paradise" had appeared in the Hyperdimension. That was a mysterious place that was only suitable for Casted Soul Stage soldiers searching for a destiny suitable for them. This was exceedingly important during the casting of one's Heroic Souls, and one would be considered pretty lucky to be able to chance upon such an opportunity even once in a couple of decades. However, the Ocean Goddess City did not care about that, as they possessed the gospels of the Ocean Goddess. Naturally, even if it appeared, the 10 great families would be the only ones that could obtain it. After all, although there were still rules in the Hyperdimension, they weren't under the jurisdiction of the Federation.

At this moment, the various powerhouse squadrons had all arrived at the arena's viewing gallery. As expected, Carolyn and Gui Hao were absent from this crowd of experts.

Despite the unexpected change in the situation, the Ocean Goddess squadron wasn't shaken or disturbed much by it. At this moment, everyone was focusing their attention on the Grozny squadron. Vladimir not participating in this match was a problem much bigger than a personal one, as it had affected the morale of the Grozny supporters. This truly wasn't a good decision.

Even Wang Zhong and the others were baffled by this situation. Being interested in Vladimir, Wang Zhong was shocked to see that the latter was not participating in this match. Something important must have sprung up for him to be absent, Ma Dong thought as his little beady eyes rolled around.

As the match commenced, the Asuna Ocean Goddess squadron's vanguard was, impressively, their vice-captain, Belico. Wielding two short but large hammers in his hands, his nickname within the Ocean Goddess City was "Hammer of the Lightning God", and was famed for being ferocious and berserk in combat.

However, when Noriba walked out from the Grozny squadron preparatory area, a wave of cheers rang out across the entire arena. This fellow's silly and amusing style were greatly welcomed by the audience. Furthermore, the vanguards for this match were both using heavy weapons, the kind of fight most beloved by the audience.

Upon walking up the stage, Noriba started to wave his hands about in a manner akin to that of a victor, while displaying an appearance as though he had already obtained the win.

This caused a frown to appear on Belico's face. He had never cared about the Mo's List rankers at all. Other than the goddess, all mortals were vulgar. Humans were meant to make mistakes, while the Mo's List was created by humans. The strength and fame of the aristocratic families had a very great influence on who appeared on that list. This had definitely resulted in the obscure and distant Ocean Goddess City getting underestimated. Nonetheless, Belico would not undervalue himself just like that.