Chapter 343: Contact

After the sixth simulated battle ended in defeat, Louise Linden voluntarily called a halt. They had made numerous attempts during this period, but the situation showed no improvement. By this point, they were at their wit's end, and continuing further would be futile.

Afterward, William Jacques walked dejectedly toward the locker room. He had never imagined that even with such a massive boost to his own strength, he would still face an almost overwhelming defeat.

He was the most affected among the five; in every simulated battle, he was the first to be cleared from the arena, leading to the collapse of the situation.

Several coaches of the club also shook their heads, their expressions grave. The head coach, Ricard, had a particularly livid face.

"You're too pessimistic. I don't believe Saint Mecklen High School can achieve this level of formation coordination."

"Pessimistic? Wow, do you think it was still them standing on the arena at that time? They were dominated by the consciousness of some legendary or even demigod-level powerhouse."

"I think it's still a matter of insufficient strength! Especially William Jacques, that weak link, but the others have already done their best to improve."

"There's no way to improve the equipment either. Nathan Sports Group has invested heavily this time and done their utmost."

"Should we consider a substitution? Maybe consider Candela; he's a sixth-level magic shield—never mind, forget I said that."

"I think it's a problem of coordination. If their cooperation were more seamless, they could hold out for a while. At least to some extent, they could leverage the power of Andre, that strategic weapon."

"The problem is they can't—"

Li Mochen, meanwhile, asked Angela curiously from the side: "How did you advance to Dragonblood Sorcerer? When did that happen?"

He thought Angela was exceptionally adept at casting dragonblood spells, which clearly wasn't something that happened overnight.

"I awakened my dragonblood at the age of ten. But my father thought it was bad, so he had someone seal my bloodline."

Angela shook her head: "It's a pity I still couldn't help you."

In today's simulated battles, the four of them had clearly been a drag. Neither their individual strength nor their coordination with each other was satisfactory.

Li Mochen, on the other hand, had always maintained his best form. Although he rarely practiced with them, he could integrate perfectly into their group, as naturally as a drop of water merging into a pool. The problem was that the water in the pool was truly limited.

The coaches obviously noticed this as well. In these simulated battles, they had made no suggestions or adjustments for Li Mochen alone, because he had already done his best.

Thinking of this, Angela scratched her face in frustration: "There are still thirteen days. I'll find another way."

"Don't be too fixated, Angie. A loss is a loss. We lost quite gracefully today, and it won't have much impact on me."

Li Mochen knew that everyone here was actually striving and sacrificing for him.

Louise Linden was ambitious, but her initial plan was only to achieve a top-four finish in the city in the team event.

William Jacques wanted to go higher for his own future, but Li Mochen could accept the current results.

As for Lina and Angela, their situation needed no elaboration. They had come to Linden Academy originally to hide and for fun.

"You call that losing gracefully?"

Angela couldn't help but laugh bitterly, thinking it was even worse than a few days ago.

In this match, those in the know understood that the opponents were at least level 11 outlaws in strength, and their combat awareness was close to or even surpassed legendary level.

But the problem was that on the arena and on television, the audience couldn't accurately discern the details. They would only see that under Li Mochen's leadership, Linden Academy suffered a crushing defeat.

"But don't worry, A-Mo, I have a way! Just wait and see."

Angela said as she waved her little fist: "I really don't believe we can't handle them."

Li Mochen frowned slightly: "I won't stop you, but Angie, you have to promise me not to advance rashly at this time, not to use divine favor, and not to sacrifice your health."

Whether it was Louise Linden or Lina Adric, they had laid an extremely solid foundation in their childhood and had undergone sufficient training at the seventh level. Even if they advanced now, it wouldn't have much impact on their future.

But Angela still had a long way to go in terms of potential. Her magic power, source power, and physique were far from their limits. If she advanced now, it would be a great pity.

As for 'divine favor,' it would be even more harmful than beneficial for the young girl.

"I know. Don't forget, I'm a Medici, the only daughter of Michel."

Angela's eyes darted around, as if she was thinking of something: "I need five days. Five days later, just wait and see."

At this moment, Li Mochen hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping. He really wanted to ask Angela why her spell power was so strong. He wished he could conduct a thorough full-body examination on her. But he was afraid the girl might misunderstand and cause awkwardness.

Just as Li Mochen was hesitating, Chu Siguo brought him a call from Nanette Drew.

At first, Li Mochen thought it was about the recent kidnapping case—perhaps there was a new development—or about his comic book.

—It must be mentioned here that twelve days ago, after three revisions, his final draft had passed the review by the editorial department led by Ms. Drew and entered the publication stage. Printing had already begun. Ms. Drew generously set the first print run at 500,000 copies, expected to be distributed nationwide within four days.

Li Mochen had originally given up hope for this comic he had drawn, abandoning any effort. For subsequent revisions, he only provided very rough storyboard drafts and left the rest to the legendary lich.

But now he felt a renewed sense of anticipation. Based on the usual price of 12 gold shields per comic in America, even if this comic only sold a million copies, it would bring him over ten million gold shields in revenue.

—Of course, this amount of money was no longer important to him now. The key was that this was one of the quick wealth-building paths he had planned for himself after entering this world, and he had put considerable effort into it.

However, after the call connected, Li Mochen raised his eyebrows in surprise, then walked straight out of the gymnasium in his training armor.

"Really? Something like that? Unbelievable—"

Li Mochen was indeed very surprised, his eyes full of astonishment.

"Their intention is for me to take action? Are they joking with me? Among those aberrants, there might even be demigods. Hmm? Where did this information come from? From you, Ms. Drew?"

But this probing remark clearly displeased the other party.

"BOSS, don't say things without evidence. Do you doubt my professionalism, Nanette Drew? Think about it; if it were me, I wouldn't be calling you at this time."

"Sorry, sorry!"

Li Mochen apologized sincerely. Fortunately, the other party didn't seem intent on holding it against him and soon steered the conversation back on track.

Li Mochen's brow gradually furrowed, and he looked hesitantly into the distant sky.

"The offer for me is quite good, but it's not enough to convince me. Ms. Drew, do you know the price I will have to pay? It's a force no less than the Dragon Witch Cult—"

If it were only that, he would have refused outright just now.

But if the situation was really as the other party described, it would also mean a great deal of merit.