45 Chapter 45: White Lightning

White Tiger roared ferociously before bounding toward the rampaging Theodore Hammond. The berserker swung his Thunder Hammer, undeterred by the fearsome sight of the gigantic Celestial Guardian charging at him, meeting him squarely in the center of the arena.

Wreathed in lightning, White Tiger swung his electrified claws, which collided against Theodore's Thunder Hammer in an explosion of electricity. Sparks flew throughout the arena, stray bolts of lightning violently pounding the ground and leaving scorched marks. I was forced to stay back, even with White Tiger's protective enchantment shimmering over me.

The Celestial Guardian swung his claws again with another bellow, only for Theodore to parry them with his Thunder Hammer. More sparks rained down, scattering like pyrotechnics. Theodore then counterattacked with a fierce swing, attempting to club White Tiger in the skull, but the divine beast leaped back to avoid the attack.

Bristling, White Tiger unleashed a storm of lightning that nearly blasted Theodore off his feet, but the berserker merely blocked the bolts with his Thunder Hammer.

"Amazing," I muttered as I watched the two fought in awe. "Theodore Hammond is actually holding his own against White Tiger."

With a growl, Theodore swung his Thunder Hammer to release his own web of destructive lightning, the arcing bolts scorching the ground and incinerating whatever they touched. White Tiger merely stood his ground, digging his claws deep into the concrete, as he watched the enormous web of lightning lash out at him.

For a moment, everyone thought that White Tiger had given up.

Then White Tiger absorbed the lightning. The silvery bolts that Theodore had discharged flowed and blended into the aura of white lightning that surrounded White Tiger, and he seemed to swell, becoming more powerful. Being his summoner and linked to him telepathically, I understood what he was trying to do.

White Tiger was supercharging himself by feeding off Theodore's lightning.

As soon as Theodore halted his spell, White Tiger instantly lunged at him with a roar, swiping at him with his supercharged Lightning Claws. Theodore stood his ground firmly again, swinging his Thunder Hammer to deflect the strike, but this time he was engulfed by an enormous explosion the moment the two deadly weapons met!

Boom!

White Tiger's attack had smashed a crater into the ground and nearly incinerated Theodore from the sheer force. Even with his protection against lightning, Theodore was scorched from the sheer heat and overwhelming power. He staggered, his eyes still glowing silver from his berserk mode, but gripped his Thunder Hammer tightly.

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

The berserker really couldn't feel any pain!

Bellowing defiantly, the president of the Thunder Hammer Society leaped forward, attempting to brain White Tiger. He would never stop, not until he destroyed all of his enemies.

However, White Tiger wasn't a pushover either.

Gracefully loping to the side with an agility that belied his immense size, White Tiger evaded the first strike, and then smacked Theodore with his Lightning Claws, knocking him off his feet. Theodore stumbled, but twisted around and adjusted his aim. Snarling, he hammered away at White Tiger, but the latter ripped the Thunder Hammer out of his hands with another ferocious swipe. While Theodore was still trying to regain his balance, the Celestial Guardian moved forward and pinned him down with his other claws.

Bam!

"Kuh!"

Theodore grunted as he was slammed into the ground. He struggled valiantly, but was unable to break out of White Tiger's grip. Lightning crackled around him as he cast a spell to blast White Tiger off with brute force, but the Celestial Guardian merely absorbed the silver electric energies to supercharge himself once again.

With a triumphant roar, White Tiger unleashed another bolt of supercharged white lightning onto his victim, crushing him and blowing a colossal crater into the arena.

"Ugh!"

Buffeted by the tremendous shockwaves, I stumbled back, almost swept off my feet.

For a moment, I was blinded, unable to see anything. My ears were filled with the screeching howl of the explosion, my skin tingling numbly from the intense voltage of the electricity that saturated the air. Huffing, I fought to remain standing, and peered through my glasses to see what was happening.

I could see nothing until the white lightning faded away. White Tiger threw his head back and roared victoriously. Even though all I could see was smoke fuming from the charred crater, through my telepathic link with White Tiger, I could see through his senses Theodore's blackened body.

He was definitely not going to get up from that.

Teacher Fielding evidently thought the same, for his holographic image drifted forward and down, as if to study Theodore's fallen figure for a few more seconds. After deliberating (and after Theodore didn't stir), he raised his hand.

"The match is over! The winner is Richard Huang of Ultimate Outcast Society!"

I slumped to my knees, exhausted, my ears ringing with White Tiger's triumphant bellows and the excited cheers of my juniors and society members.

"Anyone wants to challenge him next?" Dong Fang Yue Chu asked jokingly as he turned toward the silent Thunder Hammer Society.

No one rose to the bait.

*

"Great job!"

Dong Fang Yue Chu slapped me in the back. I shrugged, and watched respectfully as the medics stretchered the unconscious Theodore off to the infirmary.

"That was a tough battle," I admitted. "For a moment I thought he would actually be able to fight on par with my White Tiger."

"Hah! Come on, Theodore Hammond might be ranked among the top 100 of our school, but he is no Cecilia Stuart. He's not that strong."

I didn't share Dong Fang Yue Chu's mirth. I wasn't one to underestimate my opponents, and even more so I had gained a newfound respect for Theodore. No wonder he was the president of Thunder Hammer Society. He truly was a worthy opponent.

Turning to the subdued Thunder Hammer Society members, I bowed my head slightly.

"It was a hard-fought battle. Your president is truly strong."

They nodded.

"Thank you," the vice-president said. "I'm sure the president will be glad to hear that."

"That was intense," another member admitted. "I almost thought the president had a chance there."

"He did," I confessed honestly. "He pushed both me and my summoned beasts to their limits. He is that strong."

The Thunder Hammer Society seemed to straighten and grow taller, looking a little prouder of their president and their society.

"I'm sure President Theodore will challenge you again sometime," the vice-president told me. "Not as a society battle, but as an individual duel. I think he enjoyed the fight, and will be eager for a rematch." He smiled. "That's the kind of person the president is."

"I'll welcome his challenge anytime," I told him honestly. There was no reason for me to shirk from Theodore's challenge. The only way to truly become stronger was to fight against strong opponents such as him.

That reminded me…Theodore might be among the top 100, but he was ranked maybe 80 or 70 something. I wondered if the top 100 spots were all filled with monsters like him. It seemed that it was going to be an uphill battle if I wanted to claw my way and snatch the rank from any of them. On the bright side, I had shown that I was at least equal to, if not superior to someone ranked among the top 100. Of course, this single victory wasn't enough to catapult me all the way to the top 100 in one go. I needed to be more consistent in winning.

This was only the beginning of my ascension.

After leaving the Thunder Hammer Society to their own devices, I rejoined my group. Dong Fang Yue Chu glanced up from his smartphone and grinned at me excitedly.

"Your ranking jumped to the seven hundreds after this victory!" he told me, elated. As if he was the one who rose in rank. "You're now at the 742nd position!"

"And our prestige points have increased too!" Harvey added in delight. As usual, he was giving me that hero-worship gaze. "Thunder Hammer Society is quite a prestigious society! Defeating someone from there netted us quite a haul!"

"Not as much as if we won a team battle, but hey, I will take it." Stan nodded toward the retreating Thunder Hammer Society members, who were probably heading to the infirmary to check on their president. "They probably expected this result too, which was why they changed the format from team battle to individual, to minimize their loss of prestige points. Smart move."

"Now there's the challenge from Crimson Spear Society," Wang Fei said. He grinned. "I wonder if they want to stick to a team battle…"

"Hah! It would be great if they did! Then Vice-President Richard can team-kill them!"

"Come on, guys. Don't put too much faith in me. I'm not God, you know." I raised both my hands. "You can't always rely on me team-killing the opponent. You've to contribute and do your part as well."

"Yeah! Don't push everything to your vice-president!" Dong Fang Yue Chu agreed. "We're a society! We should shoulder the burden together!"

"Says the guy who lost two matches when the president was out," Stan muttered. Dong Fang Yue Chu blanched at that.

"H…hey! I did my best, you know!"

"I know what you mean, but right now we're still so weak." Wang Fei looked anxious. "Did you see the original lineup for Thunder Hammer Society? They were full of second year and third year students. I'm sure Crimson Spear Society will be the same. We won't be any match for them!"

"That's true. Right now we lack the experience and skills." Harvey also looked pretty downcast.

"Damn them…taking advantage of us first year students when we're still weak!" Stan growled in frustration. "The protection period's over too. They think we're so easy to bully!"

"Don't worry about that," I assured them, straightening up. "I'll take care of all that. For now, you guys focus on becoming stronger. I'll make sure to chase away all these challengers and protect the society." I smiled. "You guys are the future of the society. That's why I'll do everything within my power to protect you. For now, you can leave everything to me. That's what your seniors are for!"

"If only that applies to the president too," Stan muttered, which brought out a laugh from everyone else.