Netherworld Retrograde

26: Chapter 13 Beware of Those Who Carry Umbrellas on a Clear Day 26: Chapter 13 Beware of Those Who Carry Umbrellas on a Clear Day At dusk, when Li Yelai got off work and arrived at the East City Branch, the Iron Guard stationed at the gate greeted him.

“Night General, I heard about it, Aerial Stepping seven times in a row, and stabbing a Void Realm Creature to death with a single thrust.

Well done!” The Iron Guard extended his heavy metallic hand and patted Li Yelai on the shoulder.

“You’re truly a member of Yang Chen’s team, possessing the style of the Champion First Team from back in the day!”

Li Yelai’s shoulder hurt from the pat by the Iron Guard, whose surname was Chen, while another Iron Guard’s surname was Wang.

They were both Border Iron Guards stationed at the East City Branch.

At the same time, they were veterans of many battles.

Over the past few days, after meeting Li Yelai several times, they had become acquainted.

Li Yelai, holding his shoulder, asked, “The style of the Champion First Team back in the day?

What was it like?”

Li Yelai was very curious about the team he belonged to.

On the forums, Li Yelai had found traces of the team from No.3 Border City, which was called the Champion First Team.

They had an exceptionally bright record, suppressing Class B Taboo Items, eradicating sub-branches of the Ember Church, and even repelling an invasion from the Disaster Forbidden Zone.

They were second to none in the limelight, but now there was no movement.

It seemed that some posts had been deleted from the forums.

Of course, it was also possible that such information wouldn’t be shared on the forums.

And Cheese, a former member of the first team, refused to talk about it.

After a moment of silence, the Iron Guard replied with a metallic voice from within the helmet, “Humans will eventually pass, but beliefs will be passed on.

Don’t ask too much, you’ll know when it’s time.”

Li Yelai’s heart stirred.

Passed on?

Could it be that the former Champion First Team no longer shone because they had suffered too many casualties?

The Iron Guard then added, “Go ahead, Yang Chen has arrived early, and if you go now, you might still catch a good show.”

A good show?

Li Yelai did not ask further and entered the branch directly after saying goodbye.

He quickly found the training room where Yang Chen was located, as it was surrounded by many Processors and clerical workers, very conspicuous.

Cheese was among them, and he waved at Li Yelai upon seeing him.

Li Yelai squeezed through the crowd, came to Cheese’s side, and through the protective glass of the training area, witnessed a shocking scene.

Yang Chen was clad in Lamellar Armor, holding a Sky Halberd in his hand, with five hefty throwing spears on his back.

He strode forward on the field, and each swing of the spear caused the air to burst with a howl.

Across from him, one figure wore an axe-shaped helmet, dressed in dark brown plate armor, wielding a heavy longsword in one hand and a round Big Shield in the other, the sword slashing down with force!

As the two clashed, the ground beneath their feet shattered, and the collision of their weapons caused the air to explode repeatedly.

If not for the protective glass, the spectators around them would definitely be affected.

The might they unleashed was so awe-striking that even Li Yelai, who had seen Xiang Yu’s Illusion, felt terrified.

He hadn’t expected Yang Chen’s strength to be so formidable, especially while wielding a Sky Halberd.

Now Li Yelai, who was somewhat knowledgeable in gunsmanship, could clearly feel that even if he had mastered the Single-handed Eighteen Strokes thoroughly, it would still be tough to match Yang Chen’s skill.

“This is…” Li Yelai began.

“The two team leaders are sparring, the kind without using abilities,” Cheese replied.

“The one facing our leader is the third team’s Melting Furnace.”

In the next moment, the Plated Knight swiftly swung his Big Shield to deflect the long spear, then chopped down with his longsword.

But Yang Chen reacted extremely quickly.

The deflected spear quickly spun back as his body twisted and stabbed in a counterattack, executing a Back Horse Spear technique.

The move hit the longsword solidly, forcing the Plated Knight back several meters, leaving deep gouges in the ground to barely keep his footing.

Before the Plated Knight could mount another attack, Yang Chen took one of the throwing spears from behind and hurled it with an intimidating force that even produced a sonic boom!

The Plated Knight could only raise his Big Shield to block.

With a ‘thud,’ the Plated Knight managed to deflect the spear, which smashed into the ground and buried itself halfway in.

But following were the second, then the third, then the fourth throwing spears!

The Plated Knight cursed loudly, only managing to brace with the shield but was pushed back several meters again.

The third and fourth spears completely dissolved the Plated Knight’s combat capability; he could no longer even hold his shield.

He could only yell, “Stop, stop, stop, I lose!”

Yang Chen put down the fifth throwing spear and laughed, “You are of the Wanxiang Path.

It’s already very strong of you to have fought me this long without using your ability against my True Martial style.”

“It’s not like I lasted five minutes.

Were you just playing me before?” Melting Furnace, unable to lift his left hand, dropped his longsword and with his right hand removed his helmet, looking at Yang Chen and saying, “Alright, according to the bet, I’ll give you the materials for the Wanxiang Potion.

It’s really your lucky day, worth several hundred Merit Points!”

“Thank you so much, haha,” Yang Chen laughed and bowed with cupped fists.

“Next time I get some good materials I’ll give you some.”

Afterward, Yang Chen saw Li Yelai and Cheese in the crowd and waved to them with a smile.

A few minutes later, the three gathered in an office, which was the exclusive working area of the Champion First Team.

Yang Chen took off his Lamellar Armor and placed his Sky Halberd to the side, then said to Li Yelai, “You did very well on your last mission.

But it was too dangerous to use Aerial Stepping before completing your training.”

Others might not know, but Yang Chen, as the team leader of the Champion First Team, was well aware.

Li Yelai had started Aerial Stepping directly without any training.

Anyone else might have fallen to their death.

Li Yelai explained, “It was an emergency at the time, I didn’t think much about it.

I just felt like I could do it, so I did.”

“I know, this isn’t a reproach,” Yang Chen responded.

“Your strength and talent are commendable.

Your courage and decisiveness are even more praiseworthy!

You could have fled from there, but you chose to stay.

Without your bravery, Cheese, even with a desperate counterattack, could at most have taken out that monster.”