owlsbooks Chapter 82 The Winner
Chapter 82 The Winner
"The top 64 teams have all been determined."
Big Mouth's retinue stood on the high platform.
"All subsequent matches will be held publicly."
A murmur of excitement and sorrow immediately arose around the stands.
Only a small group of students have made it this far, and every match that follows will be magnified by the broadcast cameras and repeatedly studied by sponsors throughout the school and even outside the school.
Most players had already revealed their hand in the previous defensive battles, and once the matchups were announced, some games were already decided by racial advantages alone. Winning would be glorious, but losing would mean the meager consolation prize from the school wouldn't be enough to cover the loss of high-ranking members.
If they win, their fame will soar, but that's all they'll become. If they lose, although they'll receive a reward from the school, it might not be enough to offset their losses.
The new match-up list has started to refresh, with a row of rankings scrolling continuously.
Pan Xiaopang was fiddling with his terminal, pondering where to have a good meal that evening to commemorate his soon-to-be-deceased family members.
The movement suddenly stopped.
"etc."
Pan Xiaopang looked up, blinked hard, as if unsure of what he was seeing. "What have you done to deserve this lately?"
"Speak your mind." Liang Jiu followed his gaze.
"Then, you should prepare your last words first."
The scrolling stopped just in the center of the light screen.
[Liang Jiu VS Wang Chongshan]
After a brief silence, many people noticed the match and whistled incessantly.
"Fifth against third?" someone exclaimed in surprise. "They've already run into each other so early? Is the school's lottery system even working? Even a Swiss system would be better than this. Getting into this kind of death group is just bad luck."
"Who do you think has the best chance?"
"Wang Chongshan, I suppose. His familiars are bear goblins, the pinnacle of combat power among goblins. They possess both physical advantages and advanced technology. In clashes between equals, the bear goblins are simply too overpowered."
"That's hard to say. Liang Jiu was the one who took the initiative to challenge Su Cheng, so he's definitely hiding something."
Discussions quickly spread. Before Liang Jiu could express his opinion, commotion came from the preparation area.
"Brother Chongshan, look at the big screen, your opponent has appeared."
A tall boy turned around. He had been chatting with his classmates when he heard the shout and glanced at the screen.
I saw my own name, and I also saw Liang Jiu across from me.
"Oh." His reaction was indifferent.
Someone nearby chimed in, "You're lucky. By eliminating fifth place early, you'll save yourself a lot of effort in the rest of the races."
Wang Chongshan glanced at the man.
"Do you think he's a weak person?"
The man was stunned: "What do you mean?"
"If his opponent wasn't me," Wang Chongshan withdrew his gaze, "he would most likely be able to continue down the path."
The people around them fell silent at the same time.
At first glance, these words sound like a compliment, but upon closer inspection, they are undeniably arrogant. In Wang Chongshan's view, Liang Jiu was indeed strong, but against him, he could only go so far.
Wang Chongshan took a few steps toward Liang Jiu's direction.
There was more than half a playground in between.
He raised his hand, pointed to the light screen, and then pointed to himself.
Finally, hold up two fingers.
Pan Xiaopang was completely confused: "What does that mean?"
Someone nearby explained, "Twenty minutes. He said the game would end in twenty minutes."
"Damn, that's really arrogant." Pan Xiaopang cursed on the spot.
Liang Jiu's expression remained unchanged: "It seems he's quite confident."
"Nonsense, you'd be confident too if you were in his shoes." Pan Xiaopang rolled his eyes. "They've been fighting gods all this time and haven't lost a single match. You'd better watch out, Wang Chongshan's group of bear goblins are really powerful. Last month, he fought someone one-on-one and demolished their city wall."
Liang Jiu nodded: "Understood."
His gaze remained fixed on the matchup in the center of the screen. He was weighing the pros and cons. The opponent was strong, but if he revealed all his cards here just to win one match, he would be at a disadvantage in the rest of the competition.
This is a business that's easy to lose money on.
"Don't just keep saying 'uh-huh'!" Pan Xiaopang said anxiously, scratching his head. He was in a real bind, while the person involved seemed like an outsider.
"Then what should I say?" Liang Jiu glanced at him.
"Then what should I say?"
Liang Jiu turned and glanced at him.
"For example, tell me you're confident, tell me you've already figured out how to fight, or just say something tough, that would be better than the way you are now."
"no."
The answer was so straightforward that it caught everyone off guard.
"..."
Pan Xiaopang was speechless for a long time, his mouth agape.
Liang Jiu looked back at the light screen, at the name listed opposite his, and after a two-second silence, added calmly:
"However, he wants to end the game in twenty minutes, and wants to use his absolute advantage to send me out of the game in front of so many people to make a show of himself. This matter is probably not as simple as he makes it out to be. At least I won't let him do it so easily."
The first two games ended faster than most people expected.
Su Cheng and Chen Xueqi didn't even give their opponents much of a chance to struggle. The countdown on the broadcast screen had just passed three minutes when golden beams of light indicating advancement lit up on both arenas.
The emotions in the stands were also completely stirred up.
It's not unusual for a seeded player to win a match, but winning so decisively still got many students excited.
"The third match."
"Liang Jiu, versus Wang Chongshan!"
The voice of the Big Mouth Kin came from high above, silencing the surrounding chatter.
Many people subconsciously sit up straight.
Compared to the previous two matches, which were almost one-sided and overwhelming victories, this match was a true clash of titans.
One ranked fifth.
One ranked third.
One of them fought their way to the front by relying on human relatives.
One of them possesses a goblin army that is widely recognized as being most adept at frontal assaults.
Just imagining the scene of the two colliding is enough to make people look forward to it.
Liang Jiu closed his eyes.
Consciousness slowly sank down, drawn by the divine realm.
The familiar feeling of weightlessness quickly faded away.
When he opened his eyes again, he was already standing on the clouds of the battle space.
"Is it finally our turn?!"
An excited voice immediately rang out from the side.
Jane had floated up to him without him noticing.
It circled Liang Jiu twice, then conjured up two short arms and waved them around in the air.
"Don't worry! The great Lord Jane is ready! Whoever dares to come, I'll take them all—"
It paused for a moment at this point.
Clearly, they hadn't decided what to say next.
So he simply raised both fists even higher.
"Smash them all away! (ง•̀_•́)ง"
Liang Jiu glanced at it.
"Then you'll be the one to lead the way."