Chapter 371 - 266: From City Hero to Online Idol (Part 1)

Chapter 371: Chapter 266: From City Hero to Online Idol (Part 1)

First match: War King versus Abaddon.

Of course, this Abaddon was not the Destructive Abaddon Benton.

If the real one had shown up, Twin Tower City would have had to go on high alert.

This Abaddon was just a Low Tier Devil. Asmodis had simply given these Devils coming to Feilin to compete some intimidating-sounding names.

It served the same purpose as his opponent calling himself War King.

Having a proper name was a privilege reserved for High Tier Devils. Ordinary grunts in the legion, at most, used their defining features as titles, like the Beastmen, or were simply distinguished by numbers, like Zog’s pack of goblins.

The two contestants walked to their battle sand tables amidst the thunderous roar of the crowd.

As War King walked, he pumped his arms in the air, gesturing for the crowd to get even louder.

He certainly looked like a man who thrived in the spotlight.

The prophecy from the interview had come true. People really were cheering for War King, even though most of them didn’t know who he was—only that he was representing Twin Tower City.

Many of the spectators here today had never even beaten Red Alert, and some had never even played it.

In other words, they were a bunch of "cloud gamers."

It sounded ridiculous, but this was actually a very common fan demographic. Any popular competitive event is bound to have a large following of people who only watch and never play.

"He looks very confident. He must be sure he can win this first match," the City Lord asked from his private box.

Toto immediately threw cold water on the idea. "He looks confident whether he’s sure of himself or not."

On the battle stage, the two sand tables were placed close together, tilted at a 45-degree angle. This made them easy to operate and positioned the players nearly face-to-face, while also preventing them from seeing the displays on their opponent’s table.

This proximity was intended to encourage the players to trash-talk each other.

There were even recording spells on both sides. With a complete disregard for civility, if you dared to curse, they dared to broadcast it.

Typing out your taunts?

Too mild.

You should be looking your opponent right in the eye when you mock them!

It tested not only your skill at the game, but also your verbal jabs and your ability to handle pressure.

However, only trash talk was encouraged, not physical violence.

That’s why the players were actually surrounded by a transparent ring of Protective Magic.

Only someone wearing the corresponding player badge could enter their designated barrier.

An even larger barrier also enveloped both players.

This one was for soundproofing—much more effective than a glass booth—and it effectively prevented the audience from calling out positions.

The match officially began. It was a best-of-three, with each player choosing one map and the deciding game on a random map.

The first map was War King’s choice.

He opted for a stable, defensive strategy, quickly developing High Tier units, intending to secure a safe victory on his chosen map.

His mouth, however, was as arrogant as ever, spewing false information as he played.

"I’m going for your base, I’m going for your base."

"Watch out, you guy from Hell! This Tank is hiding an Engineer!"

"Haha, you fell for it."

"I see you! You’re building a Forbidden Magic Array! Too bad you’re so slow!"

On the other side, Abaddon remained silent, his actions methodical. His actions-per-minute were also much lower than War King’s.

War King thought his verbal assault was working. Seeing that he had the advantage on the field, he began switching to reporting real information to apply pressure.

"Let me count... I have more Law Paladins than your Thorny Demons and Pervert Demons combined."

"What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? Are you panicking?"

"My Knight Order is coming for you."

"Haha, you’re running out of time!"

Just as War King had boasted, the Law Paladins under his command destroyed Abaddon’s base with their absolute numerical superiority.

"Is that all you’ve got?" War King tossed out the line, then rushed to the front of the stage, leaped high, and started shadowboxing in celebration, igniting the crowd’s excitement.

It got to the point where the referee had to hurry him back to his sand table to start the next game.

Because a single game of Red Alert lasted ten minutes at most, there were no breaks between games, only a five-minute interval when players were swapped out.

War King begrudgingly returned to his spot. He even walked backward, facing the crowd, with one hand cupped to his ear, gesturing for them to cheer even louder.

In the private box, however, Toto, who truly understood the situation, still had a grim expression.

"It seems the Devils are just so-so," the City Lord said, taking a sip of wine. "Not as strong as the rumors say. His actions didn’t even look that sharp."

Aside from the base exploding, this was the only part the City Lord could understand. Gaming masters had lightning-fast hands, so hand speed could be seen as an indirect measure of combat strength.

That Abaddon fellow didn’t look up to snuff.

Grace had no choice but to explain to Chun Yun’s father, "Father, Abaddon is testing War King’s condition today. He had many chances to launch a fast attack but held back. In training matches, he also likes to drag out the first game and throw it."

"So?"

"So War King doesn’t have much of an advantage right now."

In fact, he was at a disadvantage.

Grace didn’t say the last part out loud.

’In their training matches, War King beat Abaddon many times, but those victories never took more than five minutes. If a match dragged on, he almost always lost.’

’But today, in a real match, he didn’t use the fast-attack strategy he was best at.’

’War King wasn’t as relaxed as he seemed. He was nervous.’

Back at the sand table, War King was still running his mouth. "Come on! I’ll take on five of you, then I’m off to the victory banquet to pop some sparkling wine!"

Sparkling wine was a type of alcohol that would spray everywhere due to the bubbles when opened. The most iconic example was champagne.

And as everyone knows, you don’t pop the champagne before you’ve actually won.

Abaddon, who had been silent for the entire game, finally spoke. "Your heart is beating very fast, and your breathing is unsteady."