Chapter 144: Simple

Thirty minutes later, William Jacques walked down from the arena with a deeply dejected expression.

He had just suffered a crushing defeat. His initial plan of a strong offensive not only failed but, due to being too aggressive, fell into the opponent's trap. With his strength already inferior, after just twenty-seven exchanges, the opponent cleanly delivered a 'frontal heavy blow'.

Afterward, William completely switched to defense, but that played right into the opponent's hands. The Magic Shadow Fighter was inherently a class stronger in offense than defense. Under the opponent's methodical pressure, William didn't last three minutes on the arena before suffering two 'side hits' worth three points each and one 'vital heavy blow' worth six points.

What was I thinking up there? Was I crazy?

After walking over to Li Mochen, William muttered to himself, falling into self-doubt: 'I'm so stupid. If I'd kept to my usual rhythm, even if I lost, it wouldn't have been this bad, not 0:15. I'm really not cut out to be a professional player—'

But Li Mochen laughed: 'Don't be so down, William. You actually did pretty well. I reckon soon Nathan will offer you a sponsorship contract. Not a top-tier one, but something is better than nothing.'

The key was the last thirty-five exchanges. William managed to wake up in time, and for a while afterward, he fought quite brilliantly. Although he was mostly on the defensive, his several counterattacks made the opponent quite flustered. In the end, the opponent relied on being a full grade higher in cultivation and the strength advantage of his class to forcibly take William down.

But the latter had shown potential; anyone who saw it would be deeply impressed.

Really?

William's eyes brightened briefly, then he shook his head with a bitter smile: 'Amo, you don't need to comfort me. I know my own situation. They definitely won't sign me. My performance on stage was a pile of crap.'

Li Mochen thought, 'What do you know? A pile of crap is true.' But at this moment, he had no time to worry about William's affairs. Just then, an announcement came over the stadium's PA: 'A3 Platform, fourth match: Rachel College's James Lanster vs. Lynden College's Andre Lee Wiltonstein, starting at 3:25—'

It was now 3:20, meaning in just five minutes, his match against James Lanster would begin.

At that instant, the entire Storm Stadium erupted with explosive noise. Spectators in the surrounding stands screamed hoarsely, sending out tidal waves of sound, surging endlessly, wave after wave.

Soon after, the sound waves merged into one.

'Double Sword Prince! Double Sword Prince! Double Sword Prince!'

All the stands chanted 'Double Sword Prince' in unison.

As James Lanster, clad in gleaming silver armor, stepped onto Platform 3 and waved to the crowd, the shouting from the stands rose another level. The majestic momentum seemed as if it would shake the entire venue to collapse.

He looks like a superstar—

William watched the scene with a shocked expression and began to worry for Li Mochen: 'Amo, don't let them affect you, okay? Just play your normal game. These people bet on James; they don't really like him.'

They'll be too tired to shout later.

It was Carl Holton who spoke. He had somehow come to their side again: 'I told you earlier, Amo, your opponent might be hiding his strength, even using methods outside the rules. But now we can confirm he used a banned magical potion, a seventh version called 'Dragon Heart,' the latest model from Shadow Studio.'

Banned magical potion?

William looked at Carl Holton in surprise: 'Since it's against the rules, shouldn't we report it to the competition committee?'

Carl laughed: 'Of course, current technology can't detect it. I hear many professional players use it; it can boost their combat power by about ten to twenty percent. The only drawback is that under intense emotional fluctuation, it can easily lead to loss of control. So Amo, you'd better be careful.'

William's expression changed slightly, already sensing that beneath the glossy exterior of NMOSA (National Mixed Martial Arts of Swords and Blades Organization), there might be darkness beyond his imagination.

Li Mochen stared fixedly at his opponent on the platform, then grinned: 'Don't worry, I'm sure to win this. His movements are a bit stiff and uncoordinated. Probably took too much of the drug and didn't train enough.'

Carl and William were both taken aback, looking at James Lanster on the platform.

Stiff and uncoordinated? Really? They couldn't see it at all.

Since he used banned drugs, I feel even more at ease.

Li Mochen also put on his armor, picked up his sword, and stepped onto the stairs: 'The most humiliating way, right? I'll make it happen.'

...

My combat evaluator reported that James Lanster's movements are somewhat stiff. Even after taking the 'Dragon Heart' potion, it only improves to a limited extent.

In Box 3 of the stands, Alec Brood of Penguin Betting Company held a telescope, smiling: 'He's the type favoring strength and speed, plus passable combat skills and battle awareness. He's very tough and tricky at levels below ten. But his speed is uncontrollable, completely different from Andre's effortless mastery.'

He has good insight! Our evaluators also reported on this. They believe that if Andre loosens his control over precision a bit, his thrust speed could actually reach 870 kilometers per hour. He just doesn't want to.

Dwight Payton also held a high-power telescope: 'Can you tell me? How much will your Penguin company make this time?'

That's a trade secret!

Alec pursed his lips, but then laughed: 'Total bets amount to 1.7 billion gold shields, still growing. Although some smart people bet on Andre, the amounts are small. I have to thank you, Dwight. You kept Andre's test footage and data well hidden, and Arcadis helped us. The influence of big conglomerates is beyond compare; they can even mobilize all six major news groups. But is this really okay for you, Dwight? This way, many people will come to hate Andre.'

That's their problem. Andre has always told the media he's confident of victory.

Dwight said indifferently: 'Only a minority actually place bets. Besides, Andre's image is better suited to attract women and minors.'

Bullshit. I bet afterward you'll have the media blame us for being heartless and shift the responsibility to us, right? But the president of NMOSA will like him; they've been trying to attract more female viewers to the matches.

At this moment, Alec turned his telescope toward another box diagonally opposite.

Even though it was one-way glass, Alec had his own secret method to observe the inside: 'Looks like our President Archibald is in a very good mood. Ha, they even prepared victory champagne. Dwight, you should see his expression now; he seems to think he's already won?'

I can't see, but I can probably guess.

Dwight's lips curled slightly: 'Andre has already stepped onto the platform. This is the center of the stage, isn't it?'