Chapter 388: Explosive Popularity

The next morning, Li Mochen received another call from Nanette Drew.

He thought Ms. Drew's communication would again be about their war with the Ferguson Media Group. But after connecting, what she brought up was about his comic book.

"You'll never guess what the sales figures for your comic were the day before yesterday! Nationwide, a total of 232,000 copies. I estimate it's already sold out by today. Your comic has all the signs of becoming a huge hit—"

Li Mochen was taken aback. The initial print run was only 800,000 copies.

"How could there be so many? Wasn't the first day's sales only over a hundred thousand?"

"That was just in Atlanta. I think the explosive growth is due to your fans' sustained efforts on one hand, and word-of-mouth taking off on the other."

Ms. Drew chuckled lightly: "I've already told the printing plant to add 3 million copies to the print run."

"Is there still time? Isn't 3 million too aggressive?"

Li Mochen still lacked some confidence in his comic, mainly because he had been hit hard before.

"I had the materials prepared in advance. It's estimated that by tonight, 200,000 copies will leave the factory and be shipped nationwide."

Ms. Drew gave a soft laugh: "BOSS, even if you don't trust me, you should trust the professionalism of Firefly Media's publishing department. Their estimates are similar to mine; there's no problem with unsold copies. So the question now is, when will the second volume of 'Rage War King' be finished?"

Li Mochen hesitated. He had indeed conceived the plot for the second volume, but hadn't started writing yet.

"I hope BOSS can take this seriously and complete the second volume as soon as possible. Although this income may not mean much to you, it's very important for the future 'Rising Sun Media.' It will be a stable cash flow that helps improve our operations. A good financial report will benefit our future financing."

Ms. Drew probably guessed Li Mochen's situation and smiled as she persuaded: "I think this will also help BOSS establish your persona as a combat expert, helping you gain fans nationwide. What do you think, BOSS? I also hope to use your comic to make a name and expand channels. I believe the company can achieve more in comics. In fact, I've already recruited several artists to try designing some industrialized works based on the plot and patterns of 'Rage War King.' There's great potential here, BOSS."

...

At the same time, in the gymnasium of Roland College in Manhattan, Clive Dand, wearing full protective gear, looked at his opponent with panicked eyes. Outside the boundary line, his coach was shouting at him.

"I'm asking you, where's your courage, Dand? I heard you're often bullied in class. How come you turn into a coward during practice?"

"It's just a training sword, and you're wearing armor. You don't need to be afraid, OK? Even if you get hit, it won't hurt."

"Didn't you eat enough, AH? Can't even hold your sword steady?"

Clive Dand's face was now covered in sweat. He tried to grip his sword tightly, but his arm trembled involuntarily.

Since joining the cold weapon combat club, this was his first time in actual sparring. An opponent at the level of an eleventh-grade regular competitor put him under immense pressure.

"Don't be nervous, junior. After a few more sessions, you'll find that sparring is no big deal. EMM, I've seen a few people like you before—lacking confidence at first and easily nervous. But after some practice, their personalities change a lot."

The senior across from him was quite friendly, and his words relaxed Clive Dand a bit. But just as he was about to adjust his emotions, the figure five meters away suddenly accelerated.

Warrior Skill—Barbarian Charge!

Caught off guard, Clive Dand could only barely place his sword in front of him. With a loud 'clang,' his body staggered backward involuntarily.

At the same time, the opponent's sword slashed diagonally upward from the lower left, like a drifting leaf suddenly rising under the force of the wind.

Warrior Skill—Falling Leaf Slash!

Clive Dand's mind went blank. Then, without thinking, his sword executed a two-strike thrust. It was a sequence he had pondered many times in his mind over the past two days, performed almost instinctively.

First, he slashed downward according to the predetermined direction. Sure enough, as described in the comic, in the middle of the Falling Leaf Slash, the tip of the opponent's sword hadn't yet gathered full force. Warriors below level 9S couldn't adjust their techniques based on the actual combat situation.

With another heavy 'clang,' the opponent's sword was knocked back. Then Clive Dand, without thinking, thrust forward again, and the tip of his sword struck the opponent's forehead with pinpoint accuracy, producing another 'dong' sound.

"Wow!"

The senior staggered back from the force of the blow and finally sat down on the ground. He covered his forehead and looked at his junior in disbelief: "Clive, you actually beat me? Damn, what just happened?"

The whole thing happened too fast; he didn't even understand what had happened before he was knocked down by his junior.

Why did his Falling Leaf Slash fail? He had clearly disrupted his opponent's footing—that should have been the perfect moment to execute the Falling Leaf Slash and finish him off.

"Where did you learn that move? It actually countered Bren's Falling Leaf Slash?"

The club coach also stepped inside the boundary line, looking at his student in astonishment: "Very good. It specifically targeted the weakness of the Falling Leaf Slash, though it was a bit risky and required good judgment."

Clive Dand also looked at his sword in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe he had won, or that those two strikes had come from his own hand.

After a long moment, he raised his head, his face beaming with a smile and a hint of pride: "It's from a comic! From Andre Lee Wildenstein's 'Rage War King.'"

"A comic?"

His coach and senior were puzzled and exchanged bewildered glances.

"What do you mean? Are you saying you learned that move from a comic?"

"That's exactly what I mean—wait a moment!"

With that, Clive Dand turned and hurried into the locker room. Soon, he came back with a comic book and ran up to the two of them.

"This comic not only explains how to counter the Falling Leaf Slash but also teaches methods for physical training. I tried the methods from the comic over the past two days, and I actually felt some effect."

At that moment, not only his coach and senior, but also most people in the gymnasium were looking at them with curiosity.

Clive Dand, who was only a level 3 magic-energy professional, had managed to defeat the experienced level 4 senior Bren, which already surprised and intrigued them.