by <unknown>
The first match was a team match. The broadcasting view followed both teams at all times. Han Xiao was mainly looking at Dynasty.
The venue was random, and it was a rather complicated terrain. After Dynasty entered, they did not hastily look for the enemies but took out one mechanical item after another.
The commentator spoke at a suitable time. “Dynasty has chosen the steady strategy. They’ve used mechanical items to create an advantageous situation for them. One thing I should mention is that the items Dynasty is using are all Black Star series machines. The Black Star Army has a full set of machinery products. This has given the teams in the Shattered Star Ring division an advantage in designing their strategies. Comparatively, team Tulips does not have this advantage.”
Bun-Hit-Dog nodded and added, “Definitely. According to my investigations, the players in the other divisions lack methods of obtaining set equipment as easily as the Black Star Army. Although the pro players are still able to gather a full set of top-notch equipment, this will have taken them more time.”
As soon as the Black Star Army was mentioned, the Chinese players were like on steroids. The comments were filled with ‘Black Star is awesome’, ‘Notice me, captain’, ‘Dragon Emperor licker here’, and so on.
When the Black Star Army was mentioned in an international event such as this, the Shattered Star Ring players became extremely exhilarated. The Black Star Army was the bridge that connected the many players in the Shattered Star Ring—it had become their shared language.
Han Xiao was rather surprised. He had not been mentally prepared for the sudden mention. He suddenly had a strange feeling of ‘Wherever I’m not, my legends are’.
The match continued. The two teams moved on the map and finally discovered each other. They quickly approached each other.
The viewers immediately grew nervous. They held their breath and waited for the intense clash between two strong teams they had expected…
However, dreams and reality are often very different. The actual situation was far from what they thought it would be.
There was no intense battle between two similarly strong teams—Dynasty thrashed Tulips from the beginning to the end, beating them up and ending with an overwhelming victory.
The commentators and guests were at a loss of words. The Chinese viewers were beyond exhilarated. On the other hand, the viewers of the other countries were stunned. Most did not support either of the teams, but they did look forward to an intense battle. To their surprise, the champion of the previous season was overwhelmingly and easily defeated.
The Duel that followed ended with Dynasty’s complete victory as well.
The official casters and judges were all stupefied. The host wanted to make the opening match an exciting battle between two extremely strong and skilled teams. This was also why they had invited the champion and the first runner-up of the previous season. To their absolute shock, Tulips had been easily crushed by Dynasty.
It was Dynasty’s complete, one-sided victory. The comments went crazy, and the Chinese spectators were overjoyed.
Han Xiao was not surprised by this result at all. In his previous life, Tulips had also been the champion of the first season, but they had become a normal, stronger than average team in the second season and almost did not even make it to the International top
As for Dynasty, they were much stronger than the previous season. To Han Xiao, this result was very normal.
Although Tulips was the champion of the previous season, the French lacked a special advantage that the Chinese players had—there were too few hateful comments!
Unlike the Chinese players who had been fighting in such a harsh environment, they had no pressure. The Chinese players were always motivated to become better so that they would not get so many hateful comments. However, Tulips became relaxed after winning the championship.
In the same opening match in his previous life, the two teams had been Tulips and the American team Devil, where Tulips was also demolished by Devil. Now that Dynasty had taken over Devil’s place in the first season, the one that demolished Tulips became them.
After the opening match ended, the various professionals all changed their minds and started praising Dynasty as they usually would, praising the winner after the match.
The teams of the other countries all saw Dynasty as the strongest competitor and focused on studying the match recordings, trying to design better strategies.
Dynasty’s victory was sensational and received a lot of attention. Their fame surpassed that of the other three clubs very quickly. The Chinese supporters all cheered for them and almost saw them as their main team. With their excitement and joy also came their very high hopes.
The majority of the players in team Dynasty were somewhat nervous.
As members of one of the biggest clubs, they knew full well that this situation was a double-edged sword. Of course, if they kept winning, they would surpass everyone else and almost become god players.
However, once they lost, the mistakes of every single one of them would be indefinitely enlarged, and they would be drowned by the hateful comments. The more attention they got, the more pressure they would receive. King Admiral was the only one unaffected by this at all.
After the opening match, the International All-Stars officially commenced. The strong teams fought each other in entertaining ways to kick off the International Regulars.
The champions of all nine divisions showcased their skills and displayed their strength.
The schedule for this season was very tight. The end of the All-Stars was followed by only a few days of rest before the Division Finals started.
In the Shattered Star Ring Division, the eight teams were split into four pairs based on their ranking: Dynasty vs. Nine Gates, Rivervale vs. Fanatics, Long Sky vs. Fried Eggplants With Fish, and Temple of Gods vs. Thunder Storm. The format was best of five.
The most interesting pair was Long Sky vs. Fried Eggplants With Fish—the two biggest clubs met in the first round. As only the top four could qualify for the International Regulars, this meant that one of them would not be able to qualify.
In the previous season, Fried Eggplants With Fish had not been able to enter the International Regulars. This time, their morale was extremely high, and they had sworn to defeat Long Sky in order to qualify.
Sadly, Long Sky still won. Fried Eggplants With Fish did not qualify once again and went to the corner to draw voodoo circles.
Very soon, the first round of the Division Finals had ended. As expected, Dynasty defeated Nine Gates and kept their momentum.
Rivervale had a close, intense battle with Fanatics. At the match point of 2:2, Frenzied Sword and Evil Sword surged at a crucial moment and barely defeated team Fanatics, led by Yan Ran. Rivervale entered the top four.
The result of Temple of Gods vs. Thunder Storm, however, was very unexpected. Rainy Kim wiped the floor with Li Ge, eliminating Temple of Gods with a score of 3:1 and entering the top 4. Temple of Gods joined Fried Eggplants With Fish in drawing voodoo circles in the corner.
The top 4 was determined—Dynasty, Long Sky, Rivervale, and Thunder Storm. The result was quite surprising for many viewers. Two of the biggest clubs could not qualify for the International Regulars.
The top 4 teams were already qualified for the International Regulars. Next was the fight to be the Divisions champion. This was an honorable achievement as well.
The second draw made Han Xiao suspect that Frenzied Sword had touched Feidin beforehand as well. The two biggest clubs were due to face off against each other, Dynasty vs. Long Sky, whereas Rivervale had drawn the comparatively weaker Thunder Storm.
Frenzied Sword had only started to lead a team this season. Originally, team Rivervale was just a second-tier or even third-tier team, yet they qualified for the International Regulars. They were definitely a dark horse and attracted a lot of attention.
As a Mechanical Pugilist, Frenzied Sword’s style was diverse, mature, and st
eady. He was much more famous compared to the previous season. He had started to make a name for himself in the pro scene.
Due to Han Xiao, Frenzied Sword had chosen a different class from his previous life. However, based on his current situation, his pro career was much smoother.
Chapter 649. Group Taunt |
After a few days, the result of the second round of the Division Finals was decided. Dynasty defeated Long Sky steadily, and Rivervale barely beat Thunder Storm. Dynasty met Rivervale in the last round for the championship.
Frenzied Sword could not carry on his luck from before; their raw skill difference was too vast, and he could not lead Rivervale to victory. In the end, they finished first runners-up, and Dynasty were once again the Divisions champions.
King Admiral had made the announcement before the competition started that they would finish both Divisions champions and International champions. They had already achieved one of them. Dynasty continued to attract more attention as time went on; countless players hoped that Dynasty could really live up to their words.
To Frenzied Sword, getting the first runner-up the first time he led a team was satisfying enough. His team still had a lot of room to improve and practice their teamwork. Rivervale was certainly the dark horse of this season, and they obtained a lot of new fans.
Long Sky defeated Thunder Storm and got the Divisions second runner-up. If not because they had met Dynasty in the second round, Hao Tian’s team would have been the first runners-up of the Divisions.
The results of the various divisions were decided, and the Divisions ended. There were more than ten days to rest before the International Regulars.
There were no more matches in the various divisions. The Internationals could not be viewed at the scene and only watched on the broadcast. Hence, the players did not remain on the planets used for the Divisions and went to do their own stuff while paying close attention to the forums.
Due to the Divisions, countless players did not do any mission during this time. Only more than a hundred thousand mercenaries in the Black Star Army and very few players were still taking on missions. However, although the business was neglected, not only did Han Xiao not make a loss, but he made a humongous amount of profit instead.
Most of the Ability Potions were sold. The business of selling machines and repairing equipment was also quite profitable. Han Xiao had made many tens of millions of Enas, almost doubling his bank account while emptying the wallets of many players.
With this money, he could purchase more fleets and recruit more freelance mercenaries. During the version update when he would not have the help of the close to a million players, he would have to rely on the money that he had earned from them to develop himself. Ten years was not a short period of time—the more money he could make before that, the merrier.
After the players left, Han Xiao returned to Base No.1 and sent out a message to recruit people from all around the Star Cluster. He started to prepare for the secret war that was about to break out between Klent and Purple Crystal. His current focus was to get more Favorability from Purple Crystal and obtain the Cutting-Edge Knowledge. Before he obtained the Cutting-Edge Knowledge from the Purple Crystal Civilization, he was not planning to personally take on any other missions.
However, Han Xiao received a mission that he could not reject-it was a message from the Sky Ring Army.
One mercenary team from Sky Ring encountered dangers that they could not resolve during their mission. The initial mission was an ordinary mission to deal with the rebellion on a planet. According to the employer’s explanation, the strongest person among the enemies was just Grade B. However, a Calamity Grade enemy appeared. The Black Star Army was the nearest ally that Sky Ring had, so this team could only request emergency reinforcements from Black Star.
Black Star had become one of the top mercenary groups long ago, but he still maintained his partnership with large mercenary groups such as Sky Ring. Usually, Han Xiao would definitely help them himself since it would not be too much trouble, but this time, he did not want to go there himself. Hence, he called Lagi over.
Ever since he joined the Black Star Army, the previously unoccupied Magic Research Lab had become Lagi’s territory. He spent every day there doing research and studying. Using his words, he was ‘doing meaningless things to make time pass faster while waiting for himself to rot and grow old.’
However, despite being extremely pessimistic and negative, his raw skills were too high. He improved the magic aspect of the Black Star Army single-handedly. At the very least, a Grade A Mage’s enchantment effect was far superior to a Grade B’s. Han Xiao had already gotten Lagi to re-enchant his mechanical suits and weapons, which considerably increased their stats while adding many special effects.
Han Xiao planned to send Lagi to do this mission. No matter what, he was the only Calamity Grade officer, and he had to at least take on some responsibility.
With Lagi, the Black Star Army could deal with Calamity Grade missions even without Han Xiao. He did not have to do everything himself anymore.
Sylvia brought Lagi to Han Xiao’s room, and Han Xiao cut to the chase. “I have a mission for you.”
“I knew it.” Lagi sighed. “Bad feelings often are proven to be right.”
Han Xiao ignored him and explained, “One of Sky Ring’s team requested reinforcements from us. The enemy is a Calamity Grade. Currently, in the army, you’re the only one that can deal with a Calamity Grade other than myself. As the captain, it’s not suitable for me to settle this kind of low priority matter. Hence, you will be going there to rescue them. This is your first mission. I believe in your strength. You can pick any spaceship from the hangar apart from mine. The information about the target and the coordinates have been sent to you.”
“I have a question.”
“What.”
“Can I not go?”
“Take a guess.”
Lagi tested the waters and asked, “If they are already all dead by the time I arrive, does that mean I don’t have to do the mission anymore?”
Han Xiao squinted and said, “Are you thinking about taking a detour to purposely waste time?”
“I’m exposed…” Lagi had a bitter expression on his face.
Is this person even reliable at all? Veins popped out on Han Xiao’s forehead. He sighed and said, “Quickly get going. I don’t want to see your first mission end with a failure.”
Lagi gave a long sigh. He looked up at the ceiling of the room at forty-five degrees and said, “Sigh, I’m probably going to be killed by the enemy. I never thought sacrificing myself in my first mission would be the end of my life. I want to write down my last words before leaving…”
“Quick-ly-go!”
Lagi left while sighing and shaking his head. Sylvia was trying so hard to hold back her laughter at the side that she was tearing up. Her cheeks were inflated, and she was pressing her mouth with her hands, letting out some suppressed laughter.
“Teacher, where did you dig this treasure out from?”
Han Xiao shot her a glare and said, “He’s just a little pessimistic at most. At least he’s useful and much stronger than you, yet you can still laugh? I told Reynold to supervise you. Have you been learning from him properly? Are you done with your homework?”
“Done long ago!” Sylvia’s expression instantly collapsed. She snorted unhappily, swung her ponytail, and left angrily.
Han Xiao curled his lips.
There were many officers in the Black Star Army. In Han Xiao’s eyes, the ones that had the potential to reach Grade A were only Herlous, Aroshia, Feidin, Sylvia, Harmon, Reynold, and Hila and Aurora, who were training under Ames. Reynold was currently the closest to Grade A, and Sylvia was the furthest.
Sylvia had achieved Grade A in his previous life, so Han Xiao always had high and strict requirements for her.
During the rest time, all the qualified teams from the various countries were announcing the status of their training every day.
Although Temple of Gods did not qualify, Li Ge was very smart—he volunteered for his team to help in the training for the top four teams in the Divisions, helping them in their conditioning before the Internationals. This got him some attention, and his reputation slowly recovered. The other strong teams saw this and did the same thing.
Coincidentally, in the eyes of the fans, this situation became the Chinese teams uniting due to their strong sense of collective honor. They had let go of their disagreements in the past and were helping their opponents, all so that the Chinese would become the world champions. Therefore, the Chinese players became even more passionate and excited.
Before the Internationals started, the reporters interviewed all the qualified teams. The teams from America, Sweden, Japan, and Korea all declared they would be the champions. Due to Dynasty’s outstanding performance during the All-Stars match, the reporters mentioned Dynasty specifically and considered them candidates for the top spot. The reporters asked these teams if they had the confidence in beating Dynasty. All of them announced that they would defeat Dynasty with confidence.
The break quickly passed. The International Regulars that the audiences from all around the world were looking forward to arrived.
The thirty-six teams from nine divisions all entered the venue. The venue was an arena even bigger than the previous season. As usual, the first day was the opening ceremony and the drawing of lots to determine the groups.
There were still three groups-A, B, and C. The teams would fight every other team in the group once, and the top eight teams with the highest points would qualify for the International Finals.
Long Sky entered Group A, Dynasty and Rivervale entered Group B, and Thunder Storm entered Group C. The stronger and comparatively weaker teams were rather evenly spread out through the three groups, unlike the previous season where the skill differences between groups were enormous. This time, there was no ‘weak group’ or ‘group of death’. This meant that there would be almost no luck involved-one could only enter the finals through actual skills.