Chapter 87
Chapter 87: Strip Them Bare—Not a Single Thread Left
Facing twelve legion commanders with clubs, Cheng Lin Yue tried to shield Jiang Tea Tea, but predators waited in every direction.
She couldn’t cover Sister Tea.
And all she could think about was the baby in Sister Tea’s belly. What would happen if a fight like this jolted it?
She blurted, “Sister Tea, they’re all above 3S rank. We can’t win. If we have to… we should slit our throats and forfeit.”
Behind her, Jiang Tea Tea pressed a steadying hand to her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We killed all twelve of them in round one. We can kill them in round two too.”
Cheng Lin Yue loved that confidence, that heat, but she still couldn’t stop herself. “No, Sister Tea, your body—”
Jiang Tea Tea flicked her fingers once. “My body is great. Trust me.”
Cheng Lin Yue lowered her voice anyway, frantic. “Don’t force it. Twelve against two—if we lose, it’s not shameful.”
“You two done talking?” a legion commander shouted. “Are you forfeiting yourselves, or are we beating you into forfeiting? Choose.”
“Yeah,” another jeered. “Your little female is right. Facing twelve of us, surrendering isn’t embarrassing.”
“You beat us in round one. Now we’re getting our payback. If you don’t surrender, we’ll beat you—”
“Save it,” Jiang Tea Tea cut in. “I need a weapon.”
She reached into her storage button and pulled out a stick about one and a half meters long.
It was thinner than her pinky, soft and almost whip-like, but still stiff enough to strike.
Cheng Lin Yue stared, then hurriedly pulled out a stick of her own.
Jiang Tea Tea held hers in one hand, spine straight.
Cheng Lin Yue gripped hers in both hands, crouched slightly, trying to guard every direction at once.
The twelve legion commanders looked at each other and grinned. Excitement lit their faces.
They raised their clubs and charged.
On the overall command ship, Chong Ming watched without blinking as twelve legion commanders attacked Jiang Tea Tea and Cheng Lin Yue.
Clubs crashed. Legs swept. Fists flew. Jiang Tea Tea didn’t just have to defend herself—she had to keep yanking Cheng Lin Yue out of danger.
She started losing ground.
“Sister Tea, don’t worry about me!” Cheng Lin Yue shouted. “Watch yourself! Hit them—”
Before she could finish, someone grabbed her from behind and hurled her out of the circle like trash.
They didn’t slit her throat. They didn’t eliminate her.
They tossed her aside because she was in the way.
Now twelve surrounded Jiang Tea Tea alone.
With Cheng Lin Yue out, Jiang Tea Tea’s stick snapped through the air like a whip—cracking, lashing so fast the legion commanders couldn’t close the distance.
They tried to suppress her with brute force, deliberately holding back their abilities at first. Twelve against one was already unfair. They even pulled their punches, trading blows instead of crushing her outright.
Cheng Lin Yue tried to rush back in. She couldn’t break through.
Desperate, she sent messages and calls to Sui Xuan Chu’s group.
Every message vanished into silence. No reply. No connection.
It wasn’t that the six boys didn’t want to answer.
They couldn’t.
On their way back with eight wild donkeys, eighteen legion commanders intercepted them.
Eighteen commanders struck all at once—abilities, clubs, everything. The boys didn’t even get the chance to slit their own throats and forfeit, let alone answer a call.
On the overall command ship, Chong Ming spoke into a hidden earpiece.
His voice slid into the legion commanders’ invisibility comms. “Use your abilities.”
“Force her to use hers.”
The twelve legion commanders flinched, realizing the commander-in-chief had been watching the entire time—and was now personally directing them.
They didn’t hesitate.
Twelve people. Twelve abilities.
All unleashed on Jiang Tea Tea.
Jiang Tea Tea moved instantly, lashing her stick while dodging with blinding speed.
But she was still one step too slow.
Fire roared up around her. Molten rock surged. Wind tore at her like claws. Heat and pressure boxed her in.
Her hair curled with the stink of scorch.
It felt like being roasted alive.
“You’re disgusting!” Cheng Lin Yue screamed from outside the circle. “Twelve of you—an instructor group—bullying a pure human with no abilities!”
She charged forward and forced her water ability out in a massive column, thicker than a person’s embrace, crashing down like a waterfall.
“Sister Tea! I’m coming! I’ll kill these shameless beasts who fight above their level and gang up on people!”
The water column became Jiang Tea Tea’s lifeline.
She poured magic power into her stick and slammed it into the falling water—
The water detonated into a spray of droplets that sharpened into ice spikes.
The spikes flew like they had eyes, slamming toward the legion commanders.
Some charged through the ice; others dodged back.
The fire and magma around Jiang Tea Tea sputtered under the remaining water and died.
Crack!
Jiang Tea Tea’s whip-stick snapped forward and struck the Thirteenth Legion Commander square in the forehead.
He’d been shifting to avoid the ice and couldn’t react in time.
His head rang. His vision dimmed.
Jiang Tea Tea’s stick looped his neck like a noose. She yanked hard—and her other hand flashed.
A red flexible blade kissed his throat.
Then she kicked him in the stomach.
The nearly 180-pound beastfolk male flew and crashed into the grass.
Eliminated.
Cheng Lin Yue screamed with joy. “Sister Tea! You’re amazing! You’re incredible!”
Jiang Tea Tea smiled at her. “You were amazing too. That water column saved me.”
Cheng Lin Yue practically glowed, pride loud in her voice. “Sister Tea, I can make an even bigger one!”
Jiang Tea Tea tightened her grip on the stick. “Do it—”
“Okay!” Cheng Lin Yue nodded hard.
This time the column was even thicker—two people could barely wrap their arms around it.
On the overall command ship, Cai Xi Chao approached Chong Ming, holding a Lightbrain tablet with a monitor display. “Confirmed, commander-in-chief. The unknown energy we detected earlier matches the energy Jiang Tea Tea is emitting now.”
“But when the earlier energy appeared, Jiang Tea Tea has an alibi. So we can conclude there are two sources.”
“As for the other one—male, female, pure human, or another species—we can’t determine yet.”
“I also ran a large-scale scan of 1.8 million cadets and over 200,000 instructor group members. There are several hundred suspicious candidates, but nothing definitive. It will require closer review.”
Chong Ming didn’t look away from the screen. “Continue reviewing when possible. Focus observation on Jiang Tea Tea.”
“Yes, commander-in-chief.”
On screen, Jiang Tea Tea swung again—turning water to ice and firing it at the remaining eleven legion commanders.
Fire, magma, lightning, wind—abilities surged back in a brutal counterattack.
Jiang Tea Tea lashed her stick outward and silently recited a spell.
As the attacks converged, she opened her mouth and spoke a single word.
“Freeze.”
Everything stopped.
Fire. Magma. Lightning. Wind.
Even the eleven legion commanders froze mid-motion, locked in stillness.
“Cheng Lin Yue!” Jiang Tea Tea barked. “Cut their throats. Eliminate them. Now!”
Cheng Lin Yue drew her red flexible blade and sprinted forward.
She slashed.
One throat. Then another. Then another.
In the span of a few breaths, all eleven legion commanders had red marks across their necks.
Eliminated.
Jiang Tea Tea hopped down and landed beside Cheng Lin Yue. She snapped her fingers.
The immobilization spell vanished.
All the frozen abilities smashed into each other at once. A violent boom shook the air. Fire flared. Molten heat burst outward. Grass died in scorched patches.
On the command ship, Chong Ming sat up, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Adjutant Ai. She’s really full of surprises. Don’t you think?”
Adjutant Ai stood behind him, watching. “Yes, commander-in-chief. She’s full of surprises.”
Chong Ming’s smile held. “Time-stasis ability. Rare devouring ability. High-tier plant-type ability.”
He leaned back slightly. “Do you think she has more surprises?”
Adjutant Ai replied evenly, “Maybe. She’s like a treasure chest. She doesn’t reveal much unless she must—but when she’s cornered, she always surprises.”
Chong Ming nodded. “You’re right. Three types. Possibly more. I’ll have to… uncover them slowly.”
Adjutant Ai added, “Congratulations, commander-in-chief. Of the candidates you’ve found for two years—over a hundred—she’s the best. Highest rank. Most abilities.”
Chong Ming’s smile thinned. “Yes. She’s the best.”
“And the most troublesome,” he murmured. “The sharpest. The most sarcastic.”
The eleven eliminated legion commanders could move again. Each touched his throat, then gave Jiang Tea Tea a thumbs-up.
“Jiang Tea Tea,” one said, breathless, “you’re incredible. You’re terrifying. That was a surprise.”
“Time-stasis ability—selective immobilization. We lost to you fairly.”
“But there’s still a third round,” another said. “I’m looking forward to meeting you there.”
“Yeah,” someone else added quickly. “Third round. And when it comes—choose my First Legion.”
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t answer.
The immobilization spell had eaten through her magic power, and she’d only recovered about two tenths to begin with. Now more than half of that was gone.
Her belly started to ache again.
She pressed a hand to it, then looked at Cheng Lin Yue. “They’re dead. Strip them. Take every storage button and every piece of clothing.”
“Not a single thread left.”