The Indian National Team has challenged the Chinese Defender Hall for a stamp. The fight didn't go as Arjun thought only because they severely lack teamwork.
"Don't worry, Vice-captain, everything is under control." Nishant assured and smirked at the trio.
"He is getting on my nerves now. Meteorite Fist!" Mo Fan lunged at Nishant.
"Void Wall!" Nishant easily defended against the attack.
"Thousand Fiery Feathers!" Mo Fan launched fiery feathers. Mo Fan clenched his teeth in anticipation that the defenses will fall but it didn't happened.
Mo Fan found his blood boiling when he saw Nishant smiling provokingly.
"Space Rhythm: Fissure!" Nishant attacked as soon as Mo Fan's attack was done. Mo Fan got thrown several metres back with a deep wound on his chest.
Mu Ningxue used her Ice to stop the bleeding.
"He is as strong as Ai Jiangtu." Mo Fan said in frustration. He didn't expect to face someone like him.
"It must be great for you to be brain dead. Showing your cards like this. But we wouldn't even if we lose, we play by strategy. We will keep fighting and know all of your tricks." Mo Fan said in prideful tone. Except Mu Ningxue and Mui Nu Jiao who knew Mo Fan well, everyone else were convinced by his words.
"Do not misunderstand. You are only standing in front of me because I'm allowing it. I can end this match whenever I wish to." Nishant said in a calm but mocking tone. Defenders prepare themselves for the upcoming attack when Nishant starts casting.
"Space Rhythm: Compress!" Nishant casted before defenders could even finish their spells. The trio kissed the ground. Soon the ground started sinking.
"Damn it! What is this? Is this really a Mid Tier spell." Mo Fan found it hard to even move his fingers.
Incharge of the defender's hall intervened when he saw Nishant showing no sign of stopping anytime soon.
"The winner is the Indian Team." Incharge announced.
"Good job" Arjun praised. Nishant nodded in response. Arjun took the stamp and exited the training hall. Although they won, but the performance was utterly disgraceful.
"You lot are lacking in teamwork. Instead of jumping into the fight you should have probed their strength. They only had 2 Advance Tier mages but we had 5 and 4 of you get eliminated. Raj you couldn't even cast your Advance Tier spell. And Nishant why did you wait until the end, you could have helped them." Arjun lectured each of them.
"As you said vice-captain, they only had 2 Advance Tier mages so I didn't expect things to take such a turn." Nishant made an excuse. He was confident in his strength so he decided to let his teammates taste the bitter taste of defeat.
"Indeed, but it has also served as a lesson. So the match wasn't that bad. Let's meet up with others. We need to work on our teamwork." Arjun continued his lecture which irritated everyone but no one said anything as they knew they were at fault.
NEXT DAY
Arjun gave a brief report to Advitya who wasn't happy with the team's performance.
"So we almost lost at the Chinese Training Hall." Advitya repeated in displeasure. He was only lenient with his teammates because they were able to compensate for their indiscipline with their strength but now things are different.
"Yes and very badly." Arjun confirmed.
"Maybe I need to choose the challengers myself." Advitya voiced his opinion.
"We should do that." Arjun agreed.
AFTER FEW DAYS
"Nishant, duel with me." Raj said. He is quite depressed from his last fight. It was a big hit to his pride.
"Sure, I'm quite busy so I will end it as quickly as possible." Nishant said in a cold tone. If not for the fact their performance affects the reputation of their country he wouldn't have bothered with such demands.
"I will be a referee." Siddharth volunteered.
Both of them entered the arena.
"Begin!" Siddharth signalled.
"Thunderbolt: Madness Dance!" Raj casted.
"Scatter!" Nishant easily dodged the attack.
"Thunderbolt: Madness Dance! Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!" Raj casted consecutively.
"Scatter!" Nishant easily dodged.
"Void Burst!" Nishant casted. It was just a modified 'Telekinesis: Scatter'. Raj got thrown back with enormous force. Even though it was only a Novice Tier spell, but with Nishant's Mid Level-5 Mental Strength, it was as strong as a Level-1 Advance Tier spell
Raj stood up with some effort. He cautiously looked for Nishant's next attack.
"Enough" Advitya intervened. Although training was good but the match felt like an unfair fight between a toddler and an adult. Nishant was just trifling with Raj which might further depress him.
"But captain we are only having a friendly duel. I want to improve." Raj protested.
"I know but it wouldn't work with Nishant. You may have already noticed Nishant's unnatural casting speed. I doubt Nishant has Innate Talent of High Casting Speed, you will not be able to do anything against him unless you improve your own casting speed." Advitya explained. He only has some assumptions. Nishant hasn't revealed his Innate Talent as his strength is already plenty for his reliability in the team.
"Do you have an Innate Talent?" Arjun asked in surprise, he also has his doubts but he simply assumed Nishant's casting speed was fast because of his hardwork.
"Well I do have Innate Talent which helps me in casting the spells very quickly." Nishant admitted. Nishant's casting speed isn't that fast it's just he has already aligned the stars and just releases the spells when he needs them. So it appears like Nishant cast spells at very high speed.
"Hahaha... now we have two mages on our team with Innate Talent." Arjun said with a genuine smile.
"Who is another one?" Raj asked.
"Me, I have an Innate Talent of High Recovery Rate. I can replenish all of my mana 10 times faster than you." Arjun revealed. Nishant raised his eyebrows in surprise.
AFTER 1 MONTH
The Indian Team spent a month training near the Dongting Lake. Nishant utilised the time in harvesting soul essences. In fact he had to buy a commander soul container as the warrior soul container was getting filled very quickly.
'Tier-5 Telekinesis is really insane.' Nishant muttered to himself. He was experimenting with the spell and an idea struck him and the result was really shocking for him. The spell can be considered a very weak version of 'All Mighty Push' but once Nishant's Mental Strength reached Level-7 it would even rival the real one. For now it can only generate force up to 30 metres of radius with Nishant at the centre. The spell can kill all servants within 30 metres by smashing them hard while it can injured all the warriors in 20 metres and then throw them away for futher damage. The spell is very useful if Nishant get surrounded by monsters. But if one look at the spell from far it would just look like a big 'Void Burst'.
"Why this situation again?" Kamini said in a tired and helpless tone. The team was again supposed to sneak into another country.
"Let's see if we can buy another boat." Arjun said.
"It will be hard to communicate with locals." Nishant pointed.
"Right" Arjun realised.
"There is a port nearby, should we bribe the authorities there?" Siddharth suggested.
"We can always try." Advitya said. The team went to the small port city where they found someone who was ready to smuggle them by a container ship.
"I like this ship more, it has enough space to wander around." Shalini voiced her thoughts.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
"I also like it." Siddharth said.
AFTER FEW DAYS
The ship reached Japan at night which allowed the team to avoid the authorities.
"There is a temple above there. We should rest there." Siddharth advised.
The team rested there for the night. Nishant was still awake, he was planning to do something.
'Although chances are low, I should check it.' Nishant thought and started wandering around the temple. After some time he came across a run down temple covered in vines.
"This should be the place." Nishant thoroughly checked the temple for the guardian vessel but couldn't find it and then he left.
NEXT DAY
The group made their way to the Japanese Training Hall for the stamp.
"Are you here for the challenge?" guard asked. Until now he has met with many teams and can tell who are challengers and who are tourists.
"Yes" Advitya replied.
They were soon received by the instructor of the training hall who was a woman a few years older than them.
"You can rest for now. We can have the match at night or tomorrow." woman said an impatient tone.
"We would like to have the match at night. We are quite in a hurry. It wouldn't take much time either." Advitya said. The instructor's eye twitch at the statement.
"Good" woman said and called one of her students to guide the team.
At night the preparations for the match were done. The arena and audience were ready.
"Arjun, Raj, Kamini, Siddharth and Niharika. You all will be participating in this match." Advitya said in a stern tone which was different from his usual polite and soft tone. Everyone understood they have lost their credibility in Advitya's eyes.
Both teams entered the arena.
"Begin!" Refree signalled.
"Heavenly Flame Funeral: Blazing Rain!" A defender casted with impressive speed.
"Rock Barrier!" Arjun erected a Rock Barrier and easily defended against the attack.
"Lonely Death Lightning: Thunder Arm" Raj casted.
"Ghost Wood: Ghost Hand!" several vines interlocked and made a shield for defenders.
"Heavenly Flame Funeral!" Niharika casted without missing a beat. Vines got burned to nothing. But defenders were ready for the counter they already had their Intermediate defensive spells ready for the possibility.
"Rock Shark" Arjun summoned a shark out of ground and sent it towards defenders.
"Summoning Tide: Steel Beast Stampede!" Kamini casted. About 25 great warriors charged at the defenders. Defenders tried to put up their defenses but got swayed in the tide. Arjun shook his head when he saw his shark being crushed.
"Heavenly Flame Funeral: Blazing Rain" Niharika casted as soon as the summoning tide disappeared to keep the pressure on defenders.
"You should have warned me about your spell. I almost got crushed." Siddharth complained to Kamini.
"Sorry" Kamini apologized half-heartedly.
"The winner is the Indian Team!" refree announced, extending the match any further would only injure the defenders. The difference in strength was too obvious.
NEXT DAY
The Indian team reached the Maritime Fortress, Tokyo for their next mission.
"Quite amazing, right?" Arjun looked at the fortress in admiration.
"Have you been here vice-captain?" Kriti asked.
"Yes, NDA pass outs of naval forces spend 3 months here for internship. The battles are insane here, something you have never seen before. Mumbai is making an imitation of this fortress to deal with sea monsters..." Arjun explained.
"And one more thing, don't underestimate sea monsters especially when they are in water. They are usually 3 times stronger than land monsters and not to mention their countless tricks." Arjun warned.
AFTER FEW DAYS
The Indian team has been given a zone to protect from the sea monsters. Today they will be fighting against the sea monsters.
Soon a humongous wave hit the smaller dam and flooded the fortress.
"Everyone be ready." Advitya alerted as water went past their zone.
"Hmm... I should be able to get myself a few soul essences." Nishant fondly looked at the monsters.
"Lightning Whip!" Nishant casted when monsters came in his range but the warrior class monster survived the attack which should have been almost impossible if not for the fact sea monsters are 3 times stronger than land monsters in water.
"Thunderbolt: Madness Dance!" Nishant casted, 3 servants died brutal death as their internal organs burst.
"Thunderbolt: Madness Dance Thunderbolt: Madness Dance!... Thunderbolt: Madness Dance!" Nishant casted. He is planning to use only his Level-3 Mid Tier spells until the situation calls for serious measures.
"Crush!" Nishant muttered and several servants lost their heads.
"Void Burst!" Nishant targeted a warrior, its upper half got smashed into nothing.
"Crush!" Nishant casted again when a bunch of servants appeared before him.
AFTER 2 WEEKS
"Flower Sky: Heaven's Water Curtain" Arjun casted and soon crimson X-slash hit the 'Water Curtain'.
"It's a Scarlet Rending Demon, be cautious it's a commander." Arjun alerted.
"Ice Realm: Ice Coffin!" Advitya casted 3 ice coffins fell on the commander.
"Lonely Death Lightning: Thunder Arm" Raj casted quickly.
"Meteor Fist!" Nishant casted, a giant fist of Bluish Green colour fell on the commander. An explosion took place when fist hit the commander. The resulting shockwave destroyed nearby buildings. The commander was dead.
"Tier-2 Advance Tier Fire Spell and Soul Grade Seed." Arjun exclaimed in surprise who has a rough idea of Nishant's cultivation. Other team members were shocked.
They have barely reached Advance Tier but one of their teammates has reached Tier-2.
"Seems like Fire Elemental Tool has done wonders." Arjun said with some envy. Although he is proud of his water element, but it is just not the element for earning good money. Although Water Elemental Tool is cheaper but he still has to wait for a few months.
"You can say so." Nishant said, he is making good progress in Fire Galaxy but results will not be shown before 6 or 7 months. Fire Elemental Cultivation Tool only has increased Nishant's cultivation speed by 60% but his Innate Talent provides him with 3x speed and with Elemental and Pentagon Cultivation Tools, the cultivation of his Fire Element becomes 5.6 times faster.
AFTER 2 MONTHS
The Indian Team completed their mission in Japan and started their journey to Chile which was 1 month long.
"It was one hell of a journey." Siddharth commented as soon as his feet touched the land.
"You bet" Jitendra said in agreement. Although the ship has all the facilities, it was still uncomfortable for most of the people as they are not used to such a long stay on the ship.
"Captain, I want a leave of 3 weeks." Nishant said much to everyone's surprise.
"You want to go home?Why?" Advitya asked with some concern wondering if something bad happened.
"Not home, it's a place in South America." Nishant replied.
"Is it important to go?" Advitya asked. He would rather not send his teammates like this. It might cause serious issues and others might imitate him.
"It is very very important." Nishant pressed.
"You may go then." Advitya said in a tired tone. He doesn't like it when he has to take into account the fragile ego of so-called prodigies. If they were in an army, he would have refused.
NEXT DAY
Nishant reached the end of the Safe Zone in the Andes Range.
"Ki Armour!" Nishant covered himself in Ki. Before the WCT training he has never left the safe zone without Ki Armour.
"For so long, I felt like I was naked." Nishant continued on his way to the Sun Gathering Peak.
After entering the forest with high trees and dense vegetation, he started to encounter the monsters more frequently.
"Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons!" Nishant casted when he came across 2 warriors.
"It's too quiet." Nishant felt himself sweating but still continued on his way.
"Almighty Push! Almighty Push!... Almighty Push!" Nishant casted continuously until the antlers before him came to strop. The attacker has an appearance similar to a moose but its deadly teeth and merciless eyes were evidence of its savageness.
"Meteor Fist!" Nishant attacked the monster's front when it came to a halt. The monster only got pushed back a few steps. It glared at Nishant.
"Medium Commander" Nishant gritted his teeth. The monster hit the ground with its front legs. The ground cracked and a huge portion of ground flipped over. It was as if a wave of soil had formed.
"Blink!" Nishant casted. He always kept one of his consciousness ready with the spell whenever he fought.
Nishant appeared 200 metres above the ground.
"Dual Meteor Fist!" Nishant used his both fist to launch the spells on top of the commander, it fell on its knees and its back got corroded.
ROAARRR! The monster roared in anger. The ground started shaking and a staircase made of rocks appeared which was leading towards Nishant. The monster dashed towards Nishant.
"Meteor Fist!" Nishant attacked from the front. The monster dodged the attack by leaping in the air.
"It is time, Hell Furnace!" Nishant shouted in excitement. A fiery pillar shot out of the ground and hit the monsters from below. After a few seconds the fiery pillar disappeared leaving the half dead commander with charred legs and belly. Nishant's Soul Grade Fire Seed has an additional effect of corrosive fire and its domain Hell Furnace shoots out fiery pillars out of the ground after a certain period of time. By increasing the time period, the power of the fiery pillar is increased up to 2 times of Nishant's strongest fire spell.
"Space Rhythm: Lethal Crush!" Nishant casted. The commander shivered for a moment then died. A soul essence appeared.
Then Nishant continued on his way to the Sun Gathering Peak.
AFTER 4 DAYS
Nishant was digging the ground using 'Void Claw'. He has found quite a few Pentagon Lightning Stars but they could only be used for Stardust or Nebula Cultivation Tools.
"Heh?" Nishant felt a strong presence of Lightning Element. Either it was a cluster of Low Tier Pentagon Lightning Stars or a Galaxy Tier Pentagon Lightning Star.
"Seems like I'm close." Nishant said to himself when he found a cluster of 3 Galaxy Tier Pentagon Lightning Stars.
Nishant was relieved but his greed was yet to be satisfied. He wants to find the Pentagon Lightning Star similar to the one Zhu Meng gifted to Mo Fan, Cosmos Tier Pentagon Lightning Star.
AFTER 10 DAYS
Nishant dug just up an entire underground tunnel system in the place. He speculated that the Cosmos Tier Pentagon Lightning Star was found while mining and mines tend to stretch in several kilometres. So he has to do the same.
AFTER FEW DAYS
BUZZZZZ!
"As I thought more common the Galaxy Tier Pentagon Lightning Stars became higher are chances of finding the Cosmos Tier Pentagon Lightning Star." Nishant felt he was going to laugh like a madman due to happiness.
"This place is really a treasure trove. Galaxy Tier and Cosmos Tier Pentagon Lightning Stars."
Nishant said with joy.
Nishant returned to his team the same day.
"I hope you get what you wanted because you will not be getting this time's resources." Advitya said in a stern tone hoping Nishant will refrain from such requests in future.
AFTER 2 MONTHS
The team reached Brazil after passing the safest way possible through the Andes mountains and then Bolivia.
"When will this torture end?" Kriti said in frustration. It took them almost 1 month to cross the Andes mountains. Monsters weren't a big deal but the living conditions were hell.
"Calm down we have reached Brazil, we just need to spend one more night in the forest." Advitya said as he led the group to an open area.
AFTER FEW DAYS
The Indian Team reached Brazilian Defender Hall to challenge them and claim their stamp.
"So, how should we proceed?" Arjun asked. They are allowed to choose the match type.
"Let's do one-on-one. You, me and Nishant will take care of it. Then Raj will go and another will be... Kamini and Kriti will just dominate with their elements... Let Niharika participate." Advitya chose.
"May I go first then?" Arjun asked. He has something to test.
"Sure" Advitya showed the green flag.
Advitya talked with the Instructor and both sides sent their mages in the arena.
"Rock Shark!" Arjun summoned a giant rock shark easily as big as a truck.
"Ghost Wood: Ghost Hand!" The defender casted soon half of the arena got covered in thick vines and roots. Arjun shook his head when he felt his Rock Shark getting crushed.
Arjun started constructing Star Constellations.
"Like hell I would!" Defender sent several vines towards Arjun but Arjun was calm. Suddenly a water barrier formed in front of Arjun and protected him.
"Eyes of Rock Demon: Petrification:" Arjun petrified the vines and roots.
"Violent Waves: Flooding" Arjun casted. The petrified vines and roots were shattered.
"Violent Waves: Flooding" Arjun casted again. Thanks to his Spirit Grade Seed and Soul Grade Seed the Intermediate Spell was as strong as a 1st tier Advance spell.
"Magic Shield! Magic Armour!" defender summoned his equipment. But it was a futile attempt, his equipment was only able to defend against Intermediate Spells. His defenses shattered and the defender got swayed by water but he still stood up to continue fighting.
"Enough" Instructor intervened, he can tell it was just a matter of another spell and his student will be injured. The opponent has a Soul Grade seed and his student is only a rookie Advance Tier mage.
"Raj, your turn" Advitya send Raj in.
Raj and his opponent entered the arena.
"Lonely Death Lightning: Thunder Arm" Arjun casted.
"Chaos Whirlpool!" Defender easily defended against the spell.
"What?!" Raj was taken back. His spell got nullified just like that. The spell defender used was only an Intermediate Spell.
"Return!" Defender returned the spell.
"Magic Armour!" Raj defended against his own spell.
...
"Chaos Element is very tricky." Niharika commented, she herself has awakened the element and read about it a little deeply. She was taken back from its insane flexibility.
...
Raj cautiously looked at the defender. The defender smiled at Raj provokingly.
"Blazing Fist!" Raj casted.
"Chaos Whirlpool!" defender again nullified the attack.
"Mist of Fear!" Raj casted but defender's mental strength was more than enough to resist Raj's Curse Element Cultivation. Raj gritted his teeth.
"Return!" Defender returned Raj's Blazing Fist.
"Magic Shield!" Raj summoned his equipment. The shield successfully protected Raj. Raj again started constructing the Fire Star Constellation.
...
"What is he doing? Does he want to taste his own spell again?Why is he not using his Mid Tier Curse Spell?" Siddharth asked in confusion. Curse Spell can easily bypass the Chaos Element unless he was already in an illusion.
"Maybe he will surprise you." Nishant commented while smiling. Raj might be headstrong but he is not a fool.
...
"Blazing Fist: Twelve Halls!" Raj hit his fist on the ground. The ground started shattered with a red glow leaking out of the cracks.
"Chaos Whirlpool!" Defender casted but it was futile. 12 fiery pillars surrounded him, their strength was half of what they should have but it was enough to injure the defender.
Raj smiled provokingly at the defender.
"Sinister Spider Trap!" Raj casted. He refrain from using the spell before because he simply wanted to beat his opponent as successful execution of Curse Spell will eliminate his opponent before he can vent his anger.
...
"How did you know?" Siddharth asked Nishant.
"That's what I would have done?" Nishant answered but only if he has elements similar to Raj but his Space Element would have easily took care of the opponent.
"Niharika!" Advitya called. Niharika entered the arena.
"Nyx Regime!" defender casted.
"Wing Wings: Shelter!" Niharika launched into the air and exited the darkness.
"Heavenly Flame Funeral: Blazing Rain!" Niharika casted. The spell nullified the Nyx Regime.
"Summon Contract: Come Forth Winged Serpent!" defender summoned a commander.
"I surrender!" Niharika surrendered decisively. She knew her limits well.
"Nishant!" Advitya called almost immediately. He has a rough idea of Niharika's personallity. The moment he saw the commander. He knew it was over.
Nishant entered the arena along with his opponent.
"Meteor Fist!" Nishant casted as soon as the referee signalled.
"Chaos Whirlpool! Return!" defender returned the spell with a mocking smile.
"Space Rhythm: Stasis!" Nishant slowed down the attack and leisurely walked out of its path.
"Space Rhythm: Fissure!" Nishant casted.
"Magic Armour!" Defender summoned his equipment but he was still thrown back with his armour slashed and a gaping wound. Defender's eyes widened when he felt the depth of his wound.
"Heal him quickly." Nishant told the gaping defenders.
"The winner is the Indian Team." Instructor announced. Healers immediately rushed towards the defender.
