...…

Shin drew an arc in the sky before launching himself towards Akailu. And when he saw that the latter sent a beam of seven-colored light towards him, he quickly divided the power of Eclipse inside his body and turned them back into the power of the Black Sun and Silver Moon.

After that, he separated the two powers on each of his swords as he waved those swords in a circular manner. And when he reached the ideal range to attack, he simultaneously swung the swords in an opposite diagonal slash and sent a pair of two sword waves towards the incoming beam of light.

As the black and white sword waves traveled towards the coming beam, they suddenly intervened with each other before fusing together and transforming into a giant cross that was rotating rapidly.

'Self-Created Skill (Combined): (Modified) Eclipse Cross'

Boom!

A big explosion was created right after the collision of the giant cross and the beam of light. At the same time, a huge burning cloud of smoke was formed and blocked the view of the two contenders.

Despite seeing that, Shin dived down on the burning cloud of smoke without having any kind of hesitation. And during his descent, he flapped his wings to hasten his speed as he flew straight towards the direction of his opponent.

At the same time, he also released the 'Meteor Form' of the longsword on his left hand and turned it back to its sheath form. After that, he put the [Yamato] back to its sheath with one swift motion.

Then he flapped his wings for another time to further hasten his speed before transforming himself into a streak of silver light and flew straight to Akailu.

'Slayer Skill: (Modified: Aerial Version) Moonlight Steps'

Swoosh!

Due to his insane descending speed, Shin arrived at Akailu in just the blink of an eye. And while he was brushing past the latter, he quickly unsheathed his sword and swung it rightwards for as fast as he could.

'Class Fighting Style: Quick Draw'

Shing!

After that, Shin controlled his center of gravity and spread his wings widely so that he could halt his descent. Then he turned his body around and looked at Akailu, who was currently turning into a spec of lights.

"That was a good fight. Let's exchange blows again next time," said Shin as he put the [Yamato] back to its sheath.

A moment later, the system finally announced Shin's victory before sending him out for the battle arena.

And right after he appeared inside his room, Arthur immediately greeted him with a 'congratulations'. "Heh! That is a good fight to watch. How is it? Quite satisfying isn't it?"

Shin didn't reply to him immediately as he currently had his eyes closed to assess his performance in the previous battle.

Naturally, Arthur was aware about that. So, he kept himself quiet as he waited for Shin to finish collecting his thoughts.

After a few more moments, Shin finally opened his eyes. Then he took off his mask, showing the huge smile that he had on his face. Then he took a seat on the nearest sofa before saying. "That was a good fight indeed. I hope that my next opponents are going to be as skilled as him."

Arthur couldn't help but shook his head the moment he heard that. Then he wore a bitter look on his face before muttering to himself. "Look at this guy. He just finished having an intense fight just earlier, yet he is now thinking about his next fight."

Shin was able to hear Arthur's mumbling and said. "What's wrong with looking forward to my next fight?"

Hearing that, Arthur shook his head helplessly before saying. "Yeah, Yeah. Whatever you say."

Then he added after a quick pause. "Anyway, I have some news for you; a good and a bad one. Which of them do you want to hear first?"

"Huh?" Shin knitted his brows the moment he heard that. Then he said after a quick pause. "Of course, we want to hear the bad news first before hearing the good ones."

When Arthur heard that, he immediately replied. "Alright, here is the thing. Uncle Nathan called me earlier and said that we are going to have a new special assignment from military operation."

Knitting his brows, Shin suddenly asked with confusion. "And what is the bad news with that? New mission means having some special rewards once again. It has been a while since we received one. And that is when I got my flexible sword. The same from your modified spear."

Hearing that, Arthur suddenly clicked his tongue before saying. "Tsk! That is your problem. All you think of is fights and battles, nothing else."

Then he added after taking a deep breath. "This assignment is something bigger than our previous missions. This time, we are going against a powerful family."

"Oh~! Now, that is something," Shin suddenly became interested the moment he heard that. Then he suddenly asked after a quick pause. "Which family is it? Did Uncle Nathan tell you?"

Arthur shrugged his shoulders when he heard that and said. "Nope. He did not. He said that we need to hear the details personally."

"When is the strategy meeting?" asked Shin.

"In two days. Real World's time," replied Arthur almost instantly.

"Oh~! Then my participation in the tournament is not going to get affected," said Shin with a sigh of relief. Then he quickly asked. "So, what is the good news? Don't tell me that is the good news."

Arthur suddenly smirked the moment he heard that and said. "Heh! Of course, it is not the good news yet."

"What is it then? Stop with the suspense, you are wasting our time," asked Shin with an annoyed tone.

"Boring~! As usual," said Arthur while rolling his eyes at Shin. Then he added after a quick pause. "Anyway. The good news is about your special training. You are going to have a lesser time for those boring training."

The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched uncontrollably the moment he heard that. Then he suddenly stood up from his seat and pointed at Arthur before saying. "What the f*ck! How come it was the good news?"

*********

Meanwhile, Nathan was currently inside his office. He was leaning on his seat while massaging his temples.

A moment later, Captain Bernard entered the room and saw Nathan in his current state. He suddenly started chucking. "What's wrong? Why does the fearless Dragon King look so troubled right now?"

The moment he heard that, Nathan suddenly released a helpless sigh before saying. "And how can I not? I am going to be really in trouble if something goes wrong with this operation."

Captain Bernard started laughing out loud the moment he heard that and said. "Hahaha… Where is your fearless attitude whenever you are facing death?"

Then he added after a quick pause. "And you don't have to worry about the kids. They are already used on these kinds of assignments so I am sure that they can manage themselves."

Nathan smiled helplessly before saying. "I am not worried about them. I have confidence in those kids that is why I suggested this idea for this operation."

Then he paused for a moment and thought about something before saying. "What I am worried about is the team itself."

Hearing that, Captain Bernard suddenly knitted his brows and asked with confusion. "What's wrong with the team? They are all talented so I am sure that they can work just fine. Just stop thinking about such trivial things."

Nathan suddenly smiled bitterly the moment he heard that reply. Then he said to Bernard with a helpless tone. "Do you honestly think it is that simple? Heh! Don't treat everyone as your subordinates on your team."

"Those kids are not military soldiers, who are going to obey the orders of their superiors. Shin and Arthur are fine since they are already used to it, the same for Leonard. But it is not the case for the disciples of the other elders."

"What's more, their talents are also a problem. Since they are kids who are superior to others, it was natural for them to have some prideful attitudes. And if you put such talented individuals in a single group, competition is bound to emerge – which also going to result in some conflicts."

Then he paused for a moment before continuing. "And those conflicts may affect the result of this operation."

Hearing that, Captain Bernard also started frowning before asking. "So, what is your plan?"

"I need to think of a way to resolve those possible conflicts. Or a leader that could handle such troublesome kids," replied Nathan. Then he added after releasing another helpless sigh. "And that is where my current problem was coming from."

"Can you just pick anyone of them and assign that person as the leader?" asked Captain Bernard while knitting his brows.

Hearing that, Nathan suddenly raised one of his eyebrows and said. "Do you think such prideful kids are going to listen to someone that I just assigned?"

Captain Bernard suddenly started grinning widely the moment he heard that and said. "Oh~! If this is the case, then you can leave that job to me."

"Huh!? Do you have a plan? What is it?" ask Nathan while still maintaining his raising eyebrow.

Captain Bernard didn't reply to him directly and just maintained his grinning smile. "Just stay foot and let me handle the leader selection for you. You will know about it later. I'll make sure to pick the perfect person who is fitted for the job,"

...…