Those card artisans retreated back into the crowd and disappeared without a trace.
Given the power Chen Mu had on hand, relying on the defense of the base was barely enough. If he wanted to go after the enemy, though, he would be overestimating himself.
Bogner was rather pleased with the operation.
Up until then, he had only used the power of those 20-plus card artisans.
Although the immediate crisis had been averted, he was afraid the battle had only just begun as he saw it.
The less power he used, the more help he would get later.
If you exposed all your cards in front of the eyes of others, that would undoubtedly be a very dangerous thing to do.
But nothing surprised him more than the boss's sudden display of power.
He had always thought the boss was just a card master. He had never thought he would be a card artisan, and one with the power of a high-grade card artisan at that.
No wonder he had been refused when he had hoped the boss would bring a few bodyguards with him.
Thinking about it again, although those card artisans' power was pretty good, compared to the boss …
Bogner's gaze turned to the boss, and he quickly came to the conclusion that they were far off.
His boss was no simple character, after all!
He was so awesome at making cards, and he was equally awesome at being a card artisan, which made him admire him a little.
But, Bogner didn't understand that as much as Jiao Si did. He just felt it was really amazing that Chen Mu could be so awesome at both.
But, before he could recover, a team of card artisans suddenly flew in his direction.
There were about 60 or 70 of them, and they all looked pretty battered. Many of their clothes were badly damaged, and some of their faces were covered in dirt and grass.
Seeing those card artisans, Bogner's expression changed!
There weren't many of them, and they looked battered, but they were all in good spirits and had sharp gazes.
Bogner was watching very carefully. Those people were flying in a very relaxed manner, and their postures were very casual. He couldn't see the careful control of their bodies that ordinary card artisans would have when they were flying.
Aces!
That group of people were all aces!
Only an expert would be able to control his own body as he pleased.
A fine layer of sweat appeared on Bogner's forehead.
Any one of those aces would be just a hair's breadth below Jie Yanbai's.
When Bogner clearly saw who was leading them, he stood up in shock.
Qiao Yuan. It was Qiao Yuan!
Speaking of Qiao Yuan, he was a legendary figure at the Central Repository of the Classics.
He was the eldest disciple of the master of the Central Repository of the Classics, as well as Mi Xiaqing's eldest apprentice brother.
If one were to say that Jie Yanbai was a rising star, then Mao Zedong had already been famous for many years. He had just turned 45 that year and was at the peak of his career as a card artisan.
A lot of people guessed that Qiao Yuan's strength wouldn't be too far off from his teacher, the master of the Central Repository of the Classics.
It had been 20 years since Qiao Yuan had graduated. After graduation, he didn't leave. Instead, he continued to stay in school.
The strangest thing was that he didn't take on any other duties. He only focused on training his own strength and didn't care about the outside world.
After twenty years of training, no one could say for sure how strong he was.
When Qiao Yuan had been a student, his teacher hadn't yet taken up the position of Manor Lord, so he had been the most meticulous in teaching him.
After becoming the Manor Head, there were many miscellaneous matters to attend to. The task of imparting techniques to his juniors was left to this senior.
So for Mi Xiaqing, Qiao Yuan was like half a teacher.
Qiao Yuan loved his junior dearly, which was why he had personally led the team.
He then got his junior, Lao Hao, to make a feint attack while Qiao Yuan led about 100 card artisans into the jungle.
The people around him were all carefully selected ace card artisans from the Central Repository of the Classics. Each of them was extremely powerful.
Even so, there were only 72 of them when they got to Pomelo. The others had all died in the jungle.
Qiao Yuan was a little surprised to see such a brand-new base there.
That was especially so when his gaze fell onto the pentagonal firepower points scattered around the perimeter of the base. He couldn't help but let out a light sigh.
"What's the situation, Big Qiao?" a card artisan beside him asked curiously.
Qiao Yuan was highly respected at the Central Repository of the Classics. Everyone usually addressed him as Big Qiao.
Qiao Yuan had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a buzz cut. His face was angular, and his bronze skin was glossy. He looked as though he had been cast from copper and iron.
He looked surprised as he pointed to the base below and said, "I never thought I would see a Starfish Fort here. The structure of such a firepower fort is very sturdy. Even some powerful cards would find it difficult to break through such a firepower fort."
"Starfish Fort?" The card artisan who heard that was also surprised. "How could there be a Starfish Fort in such a small place?"
"I'm not sure for the time being."
Qiao Yuan looked at the base a few more times. "It looks like the person who built this base has some power."
"Why don't we scout out the way first?" the card artisan suggested.
Qiao Yuan shook his head. "We don't have much time. Let's get down to business." He was a little worried as he looked at the crowd below. It was a dark mass that looked spectacular.
That showed how desperate the battle was, which was what Qiao Yuan was worried about.
Just then, a piece of glass in the base suddenly rose up to reveal a few people.
Chen Mu, Bogner, Jiao Si …
It was a pity Wei-ah wasn't there. Otherwise, he might have been able to scare away those card artisans with his murderous aura.
Chen Mu suddenly had that thought.
"Principal Jiao Si!" Qiao Yuan was a little taken aback. He clearly hadn't reacted.
But he didn't understand how he could run into Jiao Si there.
The Origins Academy was still far from there, and he hadn't heard any news that Jiao Si was there.
But if Jiao Si was there, it would be normal to have a Starfish Fort.
His gaze fell on Jiao Si.
Jiao Si had enough conditions to enjoy such treatment.
Not only was his battle power overbearing, but he was also the leader of a school. Of course, Qiao Yuan wouldn't dare to be too impolite.
The card artisans around him also saluted. They had all heard of Jiao Si's reputation.
"Your school is awesome, after all!"
Jiao Si smiled modestly and returned the salute to the card artisans, saying leisurely, "I never thought I'd find Fengqing University here. It looks like your school is determined to win!" He and Qiao Yuan were old acquaintances, but they hadn't exchanged blows.
Qiao Yuan's bronzed face showed some vigilance and some respect. "You must be joking, Principal Jiao Si."
Just then, his gaze fell on the people beside Qiao Yuan. When it touched Chen Mu, it lingered on him for a while, looking a little startled.
But he quickly withdrew his gaze. Apart from Jiao Si and the youth beside him, the power of the others was nothing to worry about. That made him breathe a sigh of relief.
Jiao Si's appearance there at that time made him a little uneasy.
If his adversary only had that much power, Jiao Si and his student alone wouldn't be enough to shake the overall situation.
Seeing Chen Mu standing beside Jiao Si, Qiao Yuan mistook him for Jiao Si's student.
It looked like the Origins Academy was going to have another ace!
Qiao Yuan's face didn't change as he thought to himself.
That youth was young, but his perceptual strength had already reached a rather solid state, far exceeding that of card artisans his age.
What surprised him even more was that when his own perception had scanned him, Chen Mu had actually discovered it.
He couldn't help but look at Chen Mu with some appreciation. He was a youth with a lot of potential, but it was too bad he belonged to the Origins Academy.
But it certainly wasn't the time to chat. Qiao Yuan said to Jiao Si with an apologetic look, "I have important matters to attend to and will have to leave first. If there is a chance in the future, I hope the principal can give me some pointers."
After Qiao Yuan saluted Jiao Si, he led the card artisans away in a hurry.
Qiao Yuan was worried about his little disciple. His adversary's attack had been launched earlier than he had anticipated.
They hadn't come just for Mi Xiaqing. Another reason was that the Central Island Firm's technology was really too useful to the Central Repository of the Classics.
No matter what, they would have to bring that technology back.
But, in Qiao Yuan's mind, his little disciple's safety was a lot more important than any technology.
That gang of card artisans had come and gone quickly. They had only been passing by to take a look at the base.
But even so, Bogner was still quite frightened.
But, where had those people really come from?
All of the passageways were under the control of the Federation Comprehensive Academy.
His gaze fell on the ragged clothes of these people, and an idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
The Outer Reaches!
They must have forced their way through the jungle from some other place and made a big detour to get to Pomelo!
The more Bogner thought about it, the more he felt he was right. He even saw some weeds on those people.
The arrival of that batch of card artisans would directly change the battle situation in Pomelo.
An ace at that level wasn't something they could afford to provoke.
Moreover, it was a team of 70 people, which would be enough to flatten the base several times over.
Jiao Si sighed. "It looks like the Federation Comprehensive Academy is going to get the short end of the stick this time." He didn't look very happy.
Qiao Yuan's power should be on the same level as his, but that wasn't the reason he was brooding over it.
It was because he saw the Central Repository of the Classics could easily pull out a large batch of powerful card artisans. Even if the Origins Academy were to exhaust all their strength, it would still be very difficult for them to put together such a luxurious lineup.
He was envious.
The Big Six were the Big Six, after all. Their power was far beyond what the other schools could compare to.
The battle situation in Pomelo had reached its most intense state. Even Mi Xiaqing had sustained three wounds, though he was gritting his teeth and holding on.
When Qiao Yuan and the others arrived, it was just as Jiao Si had thought. They changed the battle situation.
They had appeared out of nowhere, and Zu Ning and the rest still didn't understand where Qiao Yuan and the rest had popped up from.
The spirits of the Central Repository of the Classics were naturally roused, while the faces of the Federation Comprehensive Academy were ashen.
The power of those card artisans wasn't just a notch higher than that of the Federation Comprehensive Academy. More than 70 of them were rampaging through the entire battlefield, sweeping everything before them.
There was no longer any doubt as to who the victor of the battle would be. All that was left was time.
By the time Qiao Yuan had led more than 70 aces to take a roundabout route through the jungle to reach Pomelo, the outcome of the battle had already been decided.
At that time, another battle was quietly underway.