The Wi-Fi Sucks

"Your martial arts skills are terrible, completely disorganized—that's how you'd say it in Zhendan Language, right?"

Another day has passed.

Tagelise's lectures are still ongoing.

Hong San's master's evaluation and definition of Phoenix Vision is "seeing through the mysteries of all worlds," that is, being able to see the essential changes beneath the surface of the world, and seeing things that ordinary people cannot see, such as the flow of Magic Power, the accumulation of negative energy, the changes in elemental concentration, and so on.

This ability proved quite useful to Kang De.

Because the legacy of the Fire Thief granted him the ability to decompose matter and Extraction its Element, his eyes can see the essential Element of things, especially magical items. He can read and copy enchantment diagrams, see the Element structure of spell models, and even Extraction and decompose magic... However, both of these amazing abilities require a high level of arcane knowledge to be fully utilized.

This is what Kang De lacked in the present day.

After all, it is a Civilization scientific system from another civilization.

If you send a complete novice from another world to Earth to study high-energy physics, even if they are exceptionally intelligent, they probably wouldn't learn much in ten or twenty years, because they would have to start from elementary school math and middle school physics... What they would first need to learn is the way of thinking of another world and another Civilization.

This was the problem Kang De faced.

No, his problem is more complicated because he doesn't even have a teacher.

Tina did teach him some basics, but unfortunately, the time was too short and he didn't learn much. As for the girl's suggestion to introduce Kang De to an alchemy master after arriving in the capital, it has now become a sad and bitter sigh... Things in life are often unpredictable and unexpected.

As for the mages on the Valentan side... their abilities and character are questionable. After all, magical skill has little to do with teaching ability, just look at the hardworking El-Melloi II.

Theoretically speaking, Duke of Tiling Tagelise Tiling should be the world's best magic teacher, possessing not only superb skills and a renowned reputation, but also, it is said, many illustrious disciples. With his achievements and magical prowess, he would be more than capable of teaching Kang De his introductory magic...

--Of course, this is only in theory.

Through these two days of contact, Kang De discovered that this Tagelise... was a fraud.

On a magical level.

When asked about his knowledge of magic and elements, he initially spoke fluently and logically, but upon further questioning, it became clear that he was simply reciting from a textbook. Sometimes, he was even stumped by Kang De's questions. Faced with Kang De's subtle questioning gaze, he would impatiently say, "These are secrets of Twilight Moon. Don't try to pry into them. Don't even think about finding out the defense secrets of the Dusk Moon Dynasty from me." After a few more sarcastic remarks, he would be about to attack.

The outcome of taking action was predictable.

Kang De had crystals to strengthen his body, the bunch of bastards on the Holy Seal Archipelago as sparring partners, and learned a series of haphazard Xia Ji Ba Da techniques. He shone brightly in many battles after leaving the island, and even against the elite troops of the Dusk Warband, he was able to defeat them with his formidable physical strength and honed combat instincts... But all of this was no match for Tagelise, an elf who was "naturally physically weak".

This mage completely overwhelmed him in both strength and skill.

After winning the fight, Tagelise would pin Kang De to the ground and torment him, flicking his forehead, tickling him, or poking him, appearing very happy, as if he had found some long-lost childhood joy in Kang De. After he finished laughing, he would mock him.

"Little brother, this won't do."

Of course, in order to shut Kang De up, ensure a 24-hour unlimited supply of delicious snacks, and deal with Kang De's questioning gaze, he would also teach after his mockery.

They teach martial arts, combat skills, and the experience of killing.

It must be said that compared to his mediocre arcane skills, this elf's combat experience was far superior to Dio's. The experience, skills, and habits she imparted were often incisive and extremely effective, enlightening Kang De, who had no other thoughts but to shout "666!"

At first, A Xing was quite unhappy about Tagelise teaching martial arts, thinking she could teach it too. Later, she changed her mind and even casually kept getting closer, eating while listening intently, claiming it was to "protect Kang De from any tricks you might pull."

Later, the A Xing even secretly came to ask Kang De, "Is he really a magician?"

Kang De simply smiled and said, "Just assume he is."

So these days, Kang De stopped asking about magical knowledge and focused all his attention on learning combat skills from Tagelise, including the use of Phoenix Vision.

--Clearly, Tagelise used this eye technique as a form of mental insight, with all its applications revolving around "prediction, weakness detection, and evasion."

"Because... because I'm a mage! A mage's weakness is ultimately close combat, so I specifically compensated for that. My... my sister is the opposite; she's a warrior, so she needs to strengthen her magic-related abilities. Therefore, her Phoenix Vision is mainly used to observe the changes in elements and the flow of Magic Power —the essence of the world..."

Kang De nodded in agreement.

They tacitly pretended to be ignorant, preserving this self-deceiving facade.

"Unfortunately, Lord Elandil won't teach you..."

Sometimes, when resting, the elf would sigh like this.

Kang De kept handing him snacks of various flavors. "I don't believe he'll teach properly either."

Tagelise sipped his nutritional drink and smiled smugly.

Then Kang De added, "After I marry your sister, I'll have her teach me."

"--Pah! Get up and take your beating! I remember there's a record in the Royal Library of an axe technique created by a Phoenix King, which is perfect for you. I'll teach it to you now!"

After being punished again, Kang De indeed acquired a set of divine-grade axe techniques. The movements were expansive and powerful, unstoppable, and the variations were exquisite and subtle. It also incorporated the power and technique of throwing a flying axe, making it perfectly suited for Kang De in every sense.

Some techniques and applications of force are difficult to explain in a short time, and fearing that Kang De might forget them, Tagelise even drew illustrations and explanations, with brushstrokes that are both graceful and bold, and the painting skills are lifelike.

It's just that Kang De's appearance is drawn a bit cheeky.

That night, Kang De showed the illustrated manual to Hong San, partly to show off and partly to ask him to translate it—after all, he didn't know Elvish, or even the human writing system of the continent.

Hong San looked at it again and again, and then had Kang De demonstrate it all the way.

"How about it?"

After finishing his rehearsal, Kang De said smugly, "Look at me, Dior!"

"I won't look."

"A martial art created by a certain Phoenix King..." Hong San glanced down at the annotation, then sneered, "I've never heard of any Phoenix King using an axe."

"... Um?"

Hong San raised his head and looked at Kang De: "This set of axe techniques is simple to learn, but difficult to master because it demands a great deal from the user. It requires immense physical strength, a formidable fighting spirit, throwing skills, and in some forms, the left hand is left free—"

He demonstrated with his hand. "... like this, although it's empty, it's always aimed at the enemy or the direction the enemy might attack. If you hold a light crossbow in your left hand, you can fire it. If you have a wonderful weapon that can fire continuously, it can be even more useful."

"Therefore, the Phoenix King of all generations have been masters of elven combat skills. They would never create martial arts that ignore technique and rely solely on brute force, let alone the somewhat cumbersome axe techniques. They would never discard their axes, much less carry a light crossbow to fire at any moment during battle—Does Your Highness understand what I'm saying?"

I understand.

Kang De remained silent.

The next moment, he raised his head, ran his hand through his hair, and said arrogantly, "That still makes me awesome."

Hong San turned his head to the side.

After a while, Kang De slowly sat down in a chair, crossed his legs, and sighed, "He's so enthusiastic and kind to me, I find it increasingly difficult to just keep shouting 'kill the elves!'"

--At least before, I would think about smashing an entire nuclear power plant into the capital of Twilight Moon every day. Now, it would be hard for me to even have such a thought.

Hong San turned back, looked at Kang De, and smiled knowingly, "That's only human nature."

"... Maybe that's just how it is."

Kang De gazed at the light in the room and murmured, "All living beings... from conception to birth, being raised, cared for, learning, growing up, setting goals, moving forward, encountering sorrow and experiencing joy, having loved ones and things they hate, feeling sorrow for the sorrow of others and joy for the joy of others, even if they are from different countries or even different races, they all share similar sorrows and joys and fates."

He said softly, "When I realized this, I could no longer hate and be hostile to the elves as a whole. They were no longer those crazed and depraved executioners of the Dusk Warband, but many more vibrant individuals. I sometimes think of the elves I encountered before, strong and dignified, yet willing to abandon their dignity for something more important..."

And what Tagelise said to him.

And then there's that old friend on the Holy Seal Archipelago... a very unreliable person who often does things that leave people speechless, yet he was once a king who monitored the heavens, opened his country's doors to the world, and made friends with everyone.

He shrugged. "I can't exactly tell her, 'Hey, I've done a lot of meaningful things along the way, including smashing your hometown to pieces, so that not a single blade of grass will grow there for centuries'—that wouldn't be right."

Hong San carefully put away the illustrated notes in his hand. "Has Your Highness gained any new insights?"

"It's not new... maybe they realized it a long time ago."

With China's growing strength and increased transparency in recent years, he also knows that many countries still hold ingrained and absurd impressions of China and harbor inexplicable hostility, not only among governments but also among the general public.

"We are all human beings, we all believe that kindness and integrity are good, we all yearn for a better life, and we all love our families... We have so many commonalities, yet we are hostile to another group because of the deception of the media and the government. Perhaps those foreigners have just been deceived, or perhaps they simply lack understanding and refuse to face the truth."

He sighed slowly.

"My master said that this is the saddest and most helpless thing in the world: people and groups are driven by inherent prejudice and arrogance, refusing to understand and believe."

Hong San clapped his hands and said, "Your Highness's ability to have such thoughts shows that you already possess great compassion..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kang De turned to look at him and said seriously, "But I think the South Korea are really no good."

"..."

"..."

Hong San did not ask what nationality the South Korea was.

He was speechless for a moment, then sighed, "In short, Your Highness has agreed to peace talks?"

"... Hmm." Kang De leaned back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling. "Sometimes, the means of revenge and retribution aren't limited to war and killing... right? Goth needed peace, needed rest, but revenge wouldn't cease because of that. The spirit that started this war will still have to pay the price, sooner or later."

"That way, we can give Cleveland and Nick an explanation."

"Yes."

Hong San nodded. "Now we just need to wait for a reply from Goth's side and Princess Tina."

"Um."

Thinking of that girl, Kang De smiled.

The first person I encountered in this other world.

A friendly first encounter, a misunderstanding along the way, that beautiful face and azure eyes remain etched in my heart, the legacy of the Fire Thief, the Armor-Donning Ritual, and the subsequent invitations, care, guidance, and trust—the memories of the three of us from the beginning in this other world, together with Cleveland.

Although the engagement was a little embarrassing, who wouldn't like such a beautiful, gentle, and lovely girl... It really has been a long time since I've seen her.

He said softly, "After this battle, I'll see her and fulfill our earliest promise to visit her home... She invited me a long time ago."

Hong San smiled happily, "Perhaps soon we won't be just guests anymore."

"... ah."

Having such a stunningly beautiful, understanding girl as a wife, someone you've been through so much with, seems like the perfect blessing. A lifelong commitment, a marriage vow, a promise to weather storms together, to face everything hand in hand... Is it really settled?

For some reason, the image of Wang Xiaoman flashed through Kang De's mind.

Your Highness?

Hong San's voice snapped Kang De out of his reverie.

"Ah?"

"I mean, in order to confront that mysterious enemy... do we need to make any other preparations?"

Kang De snapped out of his reverie.

These extraterrestrial visitors are said to be very powerful, but with Tagelise and A Xing there, they should be able to handle them, not to mention there's a group of free henchmen from the elves... Besides, the defenses of Valentan's homeland seem a bit lacking, and since the elves are willing to provide support, there's no need for humans to step in.

However, as an Earthling...

Before returning, he went to Myanmar and bought a lot of weapons. Although it didn't include heavy weapons, at least those boxes of grenades and some landmines... surely they could come in handy, right?

"It's about time to discuss the ambush plan with Tagelise. The battle can't take place in Valentan, and we can't let them escape. It would be best to capture them alive."

Kang De stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I've come up with an idea these past couple of days..."

"Speaking of which..." Hong San asked, "Where is Horus?"

... Did he secretly tell you his name before he went back to Earth?

Kang De couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard the bizarre name. Any father would be annoyed if his obedient son suddenly gave himself such a strange name.

He was doing his homework in a small, dark room.

Kang De scoffed, "The child lacks the ability to distinguish right from wrong, and he's ill-equipped to discern the vast amount of information available to him. After reading some random, trivial books, he's started acting recklessly... He needs a good talking-to; we can't let him read those strange books anymore! We should find him some that praise fatherly love and promote filial piety..."

Hong San didn't quite understand, but simply smiled and said, "Yes, yes, yes."

In the White Mist World, crates of weapons were piled up. Iron Son sat to one side in a daze, his eyes flashing with massive data streams. One could imagine that the processor inside him was running at high speed.

After a moment, he slowly spat out a mouthful of waste, then frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Too little, not enough to see..."

Horus muttered to himself, "The Wi-Fi in Myanmar is terrible..."

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PS1: The boss got engaged, damn it.

PS2: There's not a sound from my side, damn it.

PS3: It's okay, he's much older than me, so...

PS4: Hahahaha, getting engaged at over thirty is so shameful, hahahahahahaha!