Lord of the Sky City

Regarding the match with Xia Nai, Rocky had already made all the necessary preparations.

The White Demon Armor had been modified, and Rocky’s own condition had long been adjusted; even the betting money on the sidelines had been prepared.

There was no doubt that after this match, it would be a while before Rocky could return to the Arena, because if everything went smoothly, it wouldn’t be long before he could join the Sky Alliance. Then, there would be no time for him to compete.

But precisely because of this, the match with Xia Nai had become Rocky’s last combat at the Arena, so he had to seize this opportunity to make a huge profit!

For this purpose, Aileen had pulled together everything Thunderhawk City could offer. The funds earmarked for Rune Armor research and the city’s daily expenses were mobilized, including Rocky’s own war reserves, and even the funds for next quarter’s food, imported leather, and yarn purchases had been diverted. In short, Aileen went all out, betting everything on the external gambling of this match.

Previously, because Rocky had planned to fight an entire season at the Arena, Aileen had always been conservative in her bets—not because she feared losing, but to avoid drawing too much attention and not jeopardize Rocky’s position at the Arena. However, this time was different. Rocky made it clear this was probably his last Arena match, so naturally, Aileen had no further reservations.

Thus, after scraping everything together, Aileen had managed to amass more than 700,000 gold coins and placed them all on Rocky!

If they won this time, they would truly make a fortune. This wasn’t just because Aileen had placed a heavy bet, but also because the betting odds for this match were incredibly high.

As the match schedule had been announced well in advance, the external betting odds for Rocky and Xia Nai’s match were given early: 7.5 to 2.3, Rocky at 7.5, Xia Nai at 2.3. The difference was extremely great, which indirectly indicated that the Arena was not optimistic about Rocky’s chances; otherwise, they wouldn’t have set his odds so high. However, equally, if Rocky won, they would make a huge profit—an over sevenfold return!

With Aileen betting heavily on this match, Rocky and Xia Nai’s competition had become even more complex. It concerned not only whether the Sky Alliance would notice Rocky but also Thunderhawk City’s treasury—whether it would be empty or overflowing depended entirely on this battle.

For this reason, Aileen, very unusually, went to see Rocky and made him promise that he must win the match, or else… Thunderhawk City would be left with not a single gold coin.

With everything ready, all Rocky had to do next was wait for the day of the match to officially arrive.

Time quickly passed, and a week ago, Rocky received the notice of the match, arriving two days early at the Star of the Sky to prepare. Today, March 15, he arrived early at the Arena with his team.

“Kid, it’s all on you.”

When Rocky arrived at the Arena with Liliya and headed to the dressing room, Orton patted his shoulder, “Make this match spectacular and show everyone what a bunch of soon-to-be outdated armors—what those fifth and a half generation and sixth generation armors—look like against the future!”

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“Sir, you must win!”

After Orton finished speaking, Aileen, with a heart full of nerves, reminded Rocky again, insisting he must win!

“Sir, please be careful.”

The others also constantly reminded Rocky. Initially, Rocky wasn’t much pressured, but their insistence made him feel the weight, such that when he and Liliya finally reached the dressing room, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Phew…”

Since they had arrived early, there was no rush to go on stage, and Rocky sat down in the dressing room.

“So much pressure…”

Glancing at Liliya, he joked about the situation.

Upon hearing this, Liliya simply smiled, but just as she was about to speak, Rocky interrupted her.

“I know, I know. I’ll be cautious.”

Waving his hand at Liliya, Rocky then laughed, knowing exactly what she was about to say.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Liliya shook her head, then sat down beside him, “You must win this time, no matter what.”

“Hm?”

Upon hearing this, Rocky was momentarily stunned because this was clearly not Liliya’s style! In the past, whenever Rocky competed, Liliya would always remind him to be careful, even saying that surrendering was fine. So, when he heard Liliya insisting that he must win no matter what, he was somewhat unaccustomed to it.

“This competition is too important. Only by winning can you and Thunderhawk City find a way out, so you must win this time, no matter what.”

“No problem.”

Hearing that, Rocky immediately sat up straight, then gave Liliya a thumbs up to show he was absolutely fine.

Time passed by the minute, and after chatting in the changing room for a while, the time for the competition drew near. As the competition approached, Rocky changed into his White Demon Armor, glanced at Liliya, and then left the changing room to head towards the entrance tunnel.

Walking alone in the tunnel, Rocky continuously took deep breaths to calm his nerves.

Despite appearing relaxed in front of Liliya and the others, he was actually very nervous about the competition, even more so than anyone else.

It couldn’t be helped; the competition was indeed too important for him. This wasn’t only his last battle in the Arena, but his performance in this competition would determine whether he caught the attention of the Sky Alliance. Even the future livelihood of Thunderhawk City was directly connected to this competition, making it impossible for Rocky not to be nervous.

In such a situation, even as he reached the entrance, Rocky hadn’t completely calmed his emotions.

Fortunately, even though it was time for the match, there was still a little while before he officially entered the arena. After all, to elevate the mood of the spectators, the announcer would spend quite some time energizing the crowd to ensure they were sufficiently enthusiastic when watching the match.

Using this time, Rocky gradually adjusted his mood until the loudspeaker in the tunnel began broadcasting.

“Contestant number 1021, prepare to enter.”

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

As the countdown ended, the gates of the entrance slowly began to open. Just a crack was enough for Rocky to hear the cheers of the audience. When the gates fully opened, he saw the vast arena outside and took a step out!