Guild Wars

The candidates for the Picking Game appeared on the field, wearing the uniform of their various countries once more. Since there were 200 contestants, the field was a lot more open than during the fighting bits. 

The camera panned through the various contestant, showing a lot of new faces except one that most from Umbra recognized. 

It was Yui, and she was representing Japan! 

Yui hadn't changed much, still being an extremely enchanting girl with the Amaterasu Lineage's trademark creamy, glowing skin. Eva also had this kind of skin tone, but hers was far superior. 

Her black eyes had a soft, limpid quality, her cute button nose, and rosebud lips, highlighting her facial attractiveness, especially with how red they were. 

Unfortunately, as seemed to be the Amaterasu Lineage standard, she didn't have much in the way of assets, though she wasn't a washboard either. However, Eva stood at the pinnacle in terms of assets for her Lineage, so one could only be below her, never above. 

Her light purple hair was tied into a ponytail, reaching the nape of her neck. Yui was definitely the kind of girl many guys would have hard crushes on, but not feel too much lust or sexual desire towards. 

You more or less just wanted to kiss/hug and appreciate her rather than bend her back and make her cry for daddy. That sort of thing. 

Amber clapped to gain the attention of the crowd. "Now that the contestants are here, we will bring out the various beasts for them to select!" 

The Picking Game involved a slew of contestants choosing between a pre-arranged assortment of monsters. These monsters would then become their representatives and would fight in a ring. The monster that survived till the end would net its master the win. 

"For the Picking Game, choose a team of three monsters from a selection of five teams unique to each of you. The monsters granted are randomized, and Luck will not exactly help you here!" Amber began explaining, making the faces of many in the crowd blanch. 

They had assumed that the Picking Game was like the Gathering Game, a Technical Event based on Luck. That was why those like Yui were chosen, people with high Luck classes but not on the level of Fitter. 

Hearing that Luck wouldn't help was a great shock. However, by this point, many had given up protesting against this wicked woman. Her face would likely go down in history books as the cruelest witch of an era, being used by future generations to portray the evil stepmother trope. 

"Your monsters will fight tag-team style against opponents in a single tournament fashion! There will be battle-oriented Group Stages and Knockout Stages, so this event will last until evening before we get our winner!" Amber revealed calmly. 

"Now contestants, choose wisely!" Amber prompted as a slew of screens appeared before each of them. The player's eyes narrowed as they sifted through their choices, some showing grand expressions while others showed pained ones. 

Yui though… she had a weird expression on her face. She looked left and right, then selected a certain set of monsters from her options. She went through a variety of expressions before settling for indifference. 

Since she was the little cousin of Eva, the almighty Lady Boss, many eyes from Umbra were on her. When they saw her actions, many eyes glinted as they understood that something had occurred. 

When the Group Stages began, the fighting got intense right away. Many threw out their monsters heroically to fight, but got squashed by the other team, or fought down to the last man. 

Eventually, it got to Yui's group and her turn to fight. With a deep breath, she came up on stage and gazed at her opponent, who was a bloke from Nicaragua. 

He was quite handsome a suave, with slick brown hair. His eyes lit up when he saw Yui, but he didn't dare to flirt on an international stage like this, so he only got ready to fight. 

He sent out his first monster, shouting 'I choose you, Savannah Lion!'. A lion that looked no different from the one Qiong Qi had impersonated the first time Draco had met him. 

It roared majestically as it faced Yui, to which the lass hesitated once more, but steeled her will. Eventually, she too sent out a monster, but didn't dare call out its name. 

Immediately, the entire arena shook as a loud screech resounded. Many eyes looked up with horror to see a large figure streaking towards the arena in a brought lights, its body wreathed with light energy. 

It was a Light Phoenix! 

It wasn't Luxia, the Light Phoenix that Eva rode, but a random one selected by the system and thrown into the pool. Amber claimed that Luck was not a factor for the randomization, so unless the lass had lied, something that by this point would surprise nobody, could it be that affinity played a part? 

It should be known that Yui was the only Lineage member in this event. The rest were all those with either good luck or just came here to play and have their names recorded at an international competition. 

When the Light Phoenix looked down at the fellow and his scrawny lion, there was a light of infinite disdain. The Light Phoenix arrogantly raised one of its legs, bit off a tiny piece of its claw of and spat it at its opponent. 

It was coated with Light Energy, meaning that it was faster than a bullet. Before the Savannah Lion could even see what had happened, it was shot through the head and insta-killed! 

This made the opposing contestant blanch, as his next monster was sent out automatically. It only had time to pose for a bit to display its endless grandeur before it was also sniped with ease. 

The same thing happened to the last fellow's monster. Yui won her first match without even uttering a word, and her face had long hardened into a mask of indifference. 

Many lips twitched as they saw this, wondering how the others with more reasonable monsters would fight this? 

However, the crowd was proven wrong. Even if there were no Lineage folks, there were still those from Superhuman and Supernatural, and they too obtained rare monsters like vampires, werewolves, and the like. 

They too brutally dominated their opponents, and the competition no longer looked one-sided. Yui cleared her group using only the Phoenix, and entered the Knockout Stages with a perfect win streak, not even revealing what other monster her team had entailed. 

Here things got tougher. Her opponents were crafty and sent out rare monsters that could counter the Phoenix somewhat, forcing it to have to fight seriously. 

By the time they reached the Quarterfinals, Yui was forced to unveil her second beast, a Light Dragon! This shook the crowd into a stupor. How was anyone supposed to be a True Dragon here? 

Actually, Yui's was not a True Dragon as they were considered NPCs, not monsters. What she had was actually a Light Drake, but it was kinda the same thing in the end. 

It beat all her foes until the final, where it clashed against an insidious Dark Underworld Devourer, a monster that could swallow all forms of energy to turn it into sustenance. 

Yui eventually won, but the crowd couldn't help but wonder what her last beast was if her first two were so tyrannical. Whatever the case, it would remain a mystery unless she personally revealed it. 

"And with that brings an end to our Picking Game! Let's see the scores!" Amber prompted with a smile. 

1st – Yui: 55 matches, 55 wins, 1 monster remaining. 9,500 points. (Japan) 

2nd – Gotta Catch Em All: 55 matches, 54 wins, 0 monsters remaining. 9,200 points. (Central Country) 

3rd – La Dompteuse: 54 matches, 53 wins, 0 monsters remaining. 8,950 points. (France) 

4th – Khozyayskaya Suka: 54 matches, 53 wins, 0 monsters remaining. 8,900 points. (Russia) 

5th – Licensed Trainer: 53 matches, 52 wins, 0 monsters remaining. 8,500 points. (England) 

6th – El Matador: 53 matches, 52 wins, 0 monsters remaining. 8,450 points. (Mexico) 

7th – Woodsman John: 53 matches, 52 wins, 0 monsters remaining. 8,400 points. (Canada) 

8th – Beast Charmer: 53 matches, 52 wins, 0 monsters remaining. 8,350 points. (India) 

9th – Re Domatore: 52 matches, 51 wins, 0 monsters remaining. 7,950 points. (Italy) 

10th – Send Jade Beauties: 52 matches, 51 wins, 0 monsters remaining. 7,900 points. (Ghana) 

The crowd nodded. Even though there had been a lot of matches, they had been played on multiple arenas at a time, so it had ended up taking less time for this tournament to complete than the Combat ones. 

The results were pretty good, and the gap was not too big in the end. But it could yield some troubling last minute changes, which Amber was happy to show by waving her hand the next second. 

｢First Inter-Player International Competition 

Country Rankings Top 15 (Overall): 

1. England - 81,510 points (-) 

2. Central Country - 78,517 points (-)   

3. France - 74,049 points (+1) 

4. Canada - 73,924 points (-1) 

5. Mexico - 68,338 points (-) 

6. Japan - 68,083 points (-) 

7. India - 65,355 points (-) 

8. Italy - 57,523 points (-) 

9. Ghana - 56,709 points (-) 

10. China - 54,846 points (-) 

11. Russia - 53,328 points (+1) 

12. Brazil - 52,395 points (-1) 

13. Germany - 48,593 points (-) 

14. Scotland - 44,105 points (-) 

15. Spain - 41,197 points (-)｣ 

….! 

The gap… was closing again! 

England's huge lead on the Central Country had become much thinner! France had overtaken Canada, stealing the bronze medal from the maple country!! 

Mexico's booty was practically assaulted by Japan, who were determined to climb over them, while Italy, Ghana, China, Russia, and Brazil were seemingly duking it out round-robin style! 

There was only one event left… 

THE RAID!