Child of Destiny

……

When the trio logged in the game together, the rest of the team was already gathered at their private lounge, waiting for the match to start.

Even if they knew that only one of them would be fighting for this match due to the mode that the two teams had agreed upon earlier, they still preferred to watch the match together since they could exchange thoughts and insights about the battle.

Seeing Arthur logged in the game along with Shin and Leonard, the group was surprised at first before quickly showing a huge smile on their faces.

“Back finally?” asked Lorraine before adding. “When did you come back?”

“Just earlier,” answered Arthur casually.

“Earlier? But I did not see you-…” Cloe squinted her eyes as she tried to guess what time Arthur came back.

She then remembered something, realizing what had happened. “Ah! That commotion earlier! You three go and ruin the backyard again!”

Arthur rolled his eyes as he tried to defend. “We don’t have a choice. We-…”

But before he could even complete his words, Leonard immediately injected. “Hah! It is all this guy’s fault! I just finished my regular training when he suddenly launched an ambush at me!”

“Auntie Jane will surely scold you guys again!” said Cloe as she made a face by wrinkling her nose and brows and pouting her lips.

The group bickered for quite a while before recalling why they were supposed to be here.

“So, who will be representing us in the first match?” asked Cloe curiously.

Right after hearing her words, a wave of fighting spirit appeared one after another from the main force of the team, such as Diablo, Alucard, Leonard, and Arthur.

As for the rest, they did not show much, even if they also wanted to fight just like Owen, who was confident, and Akailu, who wanted to test his most recent enlightenment on the most intense stage of the game.

After all, they knew how important this match was for the team.

Shin looked at the group before chuckling. “What’s with the looks? Of course, we must give the returnee a good welcome. Let him have this one since he has not done anything up until now.”

“We can’t just let him ride on our hard work and rip the benefits for free, right?” he added before sneering. “But if he lost this one, then we can ask him to take responsibility.”

Hearing his words, the group all turned to Arthur with ‘unkind’ gazes.

Shin was right. It was more interesting this way. They could make fun of this arrogant dude for a long time if he did lose. After all, their opponents were not simple.

God’s Paradise was the current defending champion of the season, so underestimating them would cause serious consequences.

Seeing them looking at him this way, Arthur shook his head and said. “Heh! Don’t hope about my loss too much. My record against those guys is still quite high.”

“I hope Ashura takes on the stage and wipes you out,” chuckled Leonard, fully aware of the abilities of the opposing side.

Among their current opponents, Ashura was the only one who had a high chance of defeating Arthur. However, it was still quite close, given the abilities of both sides.

“Heh! This guy can only win a draw against that dude,” said Arthur while pointing at Shin before adding. “Let me show you how to defeat that guy. Watch me wipe his *ss on the field.”

The rest ignored Arthur as they turned at Shin, with Leonard asking. “What about the other one? Who will be taking the stage?”

Shin thought for a moment before smiling mysteriously. “Let’s save it for later. It depends on this guy. Let’s see whether he will win or lose first.”

The team nodded, not questioning his decision. They all trusted him and believed that he already had his plans, so there was no need to worry about it.

Arthur continued to bicker with the others while waiting for the start of the match, making the atmosphere within the team even livelier.

When it was time, Arthur was immediately summoned by the system.

“Watch me, I’ll be back with a big W?” he said along with his smug face before disappearing.

…

*Ding*

System: United Cup Upper Bracket Finals – God’s Paradise (Home) versus Empyrean Talons (Away)!

System: Battle Mode – Champion’s Battle!

…

Seeing the battle mode, the people watching the match could not help but go crazy, not expecting this to happen.

They did not know that the two teams had already come to a special agreement, so they were very surprised that the two teams would be deciding on who would be advancing to the grand finals first in such a simple battle format.

But they did not have the time to dwell on it that long because they suddenly saw the two representatives of the two teams.

…

*Ding*

System: Whale God Cetus (Godlike Player) versus Dragon God Siegfried (Godlike Player)

…

Everyone was shocked for two different reasons. This even included the two teams.

The first reason was the Whale God Cetus. This Godlike Player was quite well-known within the circle, particularly for his wealth. He was the type of player who would spend all his money within the game just to get whatever he wanted, regardless of the price.

This was also where he had gotten his title ‘Whale God’.

The term ‘whale’ was usually used by gamers to address those players who were spending a lot of money on the game.

But Cetus was not just a whale who only knew how to spend money in the game. His skills were quite high as well, which was how he had earned himself a Godlike Title.

Even though he had not earned a lot of titles, unlike those standing at the top of the Godly Ranking Lists, he was frequent in huge tournaments.

He had even participated in almost all Professional Ranking Tournaments and Title Events, which also earned him another nickname of Crazy Whale – a crazy whale who would not let go of any opportunity to become stronger.

Because of this, he had quite a rich experience when it came to fighting top and godly experts of the game.

Moreover, he was also no stranger to facing them in the most competitive stage of the virtual games they played.

But what surprised everyone more was the fact that Cetus represented the God’s Paradise in the match. After all, he was supposed to be an independent player in all the games that he played.

He was quite well-known for being a lone wolf within the virtual world.

At the same time, he could also build a team of his own, given the wealth that he possessed.

How come this prideful whale agreed to join a team that he was not the ‘superstar’?

In the meantime, the others were quite surprised after seeing Arthur step onto the battlefield, representing the Empyrean Talons.

Since the start of the tournament, this was their first time seeing him.

They were quite surprised that he was now willing to take on the stage and represent this group of monsters on the field.

Now that he had returned, the lineup of the Empyrean Talons had become crazier, which further confused everyone.

Some suspected that this was the reason why the God’s Paradise chose this battle format for this round, saying that they were not confident of facing the strongest lineup of the Empyrean Talons in team competition.

Others refused to believe this and said that it was just a coincidence.

Regardless of the reason, the people were quite curious about this match since they were also quite familiar with the current matchup.

These two could be considered rivals. After all, they had met each other on multiple occasions now.

…

In the private room of God’s Paradise, the group could not help but click their tongue after seeing the player representing the opposing side.

“Tsk! Tsk! Is it a coincidence, or did those guys have prepared such a card at this moment? The timing is too ‘right,'” said Susanoo after seeing Arthur on the stage.

“Did we just get played?” asked Kallavan before adding. “If we know that this is going to be like this, then I should have taken this position and represented us.”

“We have chosen Catus for this match since this guy’s class is somewhat a counter for the other guys. He even prepared some ‘tools’ against the other key members of the opposing team. With this, all his preparations are in vain,” commented Susanoo while suppressing his laughter.

“Worse, he even encountered the most annoying guy within the circle,” said Kallavan, laughing.

Ashura, on the other hand, smiled as he found the situation more interesting. “This is going to be even more entertaining now.”

The other two nodded, agreeing with their commander.

“Since this is the case, who will be sending on the next match? Given the history of these two, Cetus will be at a disadvantage in the matchup,” said Susanoo.

“We should prepare for the worst,” nodded Kallavan.

Ashura thought for a moment, agreeing with these two. “Worst-case scenario, I will step in for the next match. Win back a point and force a tie-breaker.”

He then gave the two a sidelong glance and added. “You two should prepare for the next one after mine. I will most likely reveal all my cards in this one.”

The two nodded, agreeing with his thoughts, but they still wore solemn expressions on their faces. After all, their opponents were not so simple.

They were confident in Ashura and his abilities, but there was also another monster on the opposing side who could match their commander in terms of everything.

It would most likely be an early rematch between these two.

…